Alumni
The Shootsilonian Saga: Iron, Brotherhood, and the Path to the Three-Peat
In the hallowed history of the Upsilon Sigma Phi, tradition is not merely a set of rituals performed in the dark; it is a living, breathing force. It is an invisible thread of high-tension steel that binds a brother from the batch of 1966 to a neophyte, newly minted brother of 2024. As we stand on the precipice of the Third Championship of the Battle of the Fraternities in March 2026, we are not merely a team of shooters. We are the custodians of a century-old promise: that when Upsilonians gather, excellence inevitably follows.
This is the chronicle of the Shootsilonians—a story not of guns and bullets, but of the alchemy that turns men into brothers.
The Lineage and the Legacy of the Range
The Upsilon Shooting Team was born not by mandate but organically, through a fellowship of enthusiasts, collectors, and competitors who shared an instinctive calling to precision and mastery. For me, that calling began early. I inherited a shooting DNA from my father—an Olympic hopeful who later became the NBI’s famed “Chief of the Untouchables.” That lineage drove me to the range as a freshman, where I bagged all nine gold medals at the UP SSS-GSIS Shootfest Open in Diliman.
From there, the path became inevitable. My years with the UP Rifle and Pistol Team, the NBI Shooting Team, and eventually the Philippine National Team for Olympic Rapid Fire shaped the foundation upon which the Shootsilonians would rise. These experiences, disciplines, and victories became the compass that guided my final challenge: to elevate the Upsilon Sigma Phi into a name synonymous with competitive shooting excellence.
But a calling requires a sanctuary. Brod Director General Greg Catapang ’84 provided this when he transformed the BUCOR firing range into our home. There, amidst the sharp tang of gunpowder and the warmth of superb hospitality, the decades melted away. A brother from the 60s and 80s stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a brother from the 2020s, the years between them bridged by a single, unified purpose.
The Choice of Steel
In this arena, the pistol is an extension of the will. In the early days, we faced a choice. The sport is dominated by "Race Guns"—finely tuned instruments like the Infinity, the Ferraris of the shooting world. They are fast, beautiful, and temperamental.
But the Upsilon way is different. We chose the Staccato 2011.
We chose it for its virtue of absolute reliability. It is the Humvee to the Infinity’s Ferrari. It ignores dust; it ignores grit; it functions when the world is falling apart. We standardized on this platform because it mirrors the fraternity itself: rugged, dependable, and capable of performing when the conditions are at their worst. While individual brothers might tweak a grip texture or adjust a red-dot sight for aging eyes, the heart of our armory remained the same.
The Architecture of the Mind
To the uninitiated, our training looks like noise and adrenaline. But the actual battle is fought in silence, in the living rooms of our brothers, long before a shot is fired. We adopted the principles of Psychocybernetics—the science of steering the mind to a pre-destined outcome.
We committed to the "For the Frat" platform, a pact sealed in writing. The mandate was grueling: daily dry-firing. This is the tedious, unglamorous practice of manipulating the weapon without ammunition, benchmarking our draw times to under one second. It was a test of integrity—doing the work when no one is watching.
We gathered on Wednesdays at Camp Aguinaldo, not just to shoot, but to visualize. We rehearsed the recoil before it happened. We stripped away the fear center of the brain so that when the buzzer screamed, the body moved on instinct alone. And always, we ended with food and storytelling—the fraternity's myths passed down like heirlooms, grounding us in our identity.
The Trap: Intelligence in Motion
We knew we could not simply outrun our opponents; we had to outthink them. Thus, the "Trap" Drill was born.
In competitive shooting, most athletes fall into a rhythmic trance—bang, bang, bang. We disrupted this. We set up a "chess match" of targets: huge, easy plates alternating with tiny, distant "traps." If a shooter tried to rush the tiny target with the same aggression as the big one, they missed.
While our rivals tried to sprint through the course, we learned to dance through it. We mastered the ability to shift gears instantly—explosive violence on the easy targets, Zen-like stillness on the difficult ones. It became the Achilles heel of the field.
The Crucible of 2024: The Heroism of Team Bravo
The truest test of our bond came not in victory, but in near-catastrophe during the 2024 Championship. Moments before the match, the "Ferrari"—Team Bravo’s high-end Infinity pistol—failed. The sights sheared off. The weapon was useless.
Panic is the enemy of the marksman. But in the Upsilon, a brother’s problem is every brother’s problem. Brod Romel Escudero ’91 acted with the agility we cherish, producing a reserve "Metrillo" pistol. It was not famous foreign steel; it was local craftsmanship. But backed by the brotherhood, it held firm.
However, the disaster was only beginning. Early in the rounds, our top-seeded Team Alpha was stunned and eliminated. The silence that followed was deafening. The dream seemed dead.
It was in this darkest hour that Team Bravo rose to become the saviors of the campaign. This squad—the "Old Guard"—was composed of men who refused to yield: Paolo Miciano ’79, Peter Suchianco ’83, Romel Escudero ’91, Jay Santiago '93, and Zach Ruiz ’2019.
With the weight of the entire fraternity on their shoulders, Team Bravo fought with ferocious precision. They did not just compete; they dismantled opponents one by one, clawing their way through the losers' bracket. Their resilience miraculously pulled the eliminated Team Alpha back into the fray via the wildcard system. They saved the championship.
And then, the inevitable happened: The Civil War.
Fate pitted Upsilon against Upsilon. Brother against Brother. It was a moment of suffocating pressure, yet it was where the fraternity's culture shone brightest. There was no ego, only a silent understanding that whoever won carried the flag. Team Alpha edged out their saviors to face San Beda's Lex Talionis in the finals.
In the dying light of the competition, in a nerve-wracking best-of-three, it came down to a duel. It was the steady, seasoned hand of Dodie Lagman ’66 firing the penultimate shot to set the rhythm, and the youthful, ice-cold precision of Nino Albano ’2022 delivering the final blow to the stop-popper plate.
The Ascension of 2025
By 2025, we had evolved. We moved from survival to dominance. The challenge was no longer finding talent, but practicing "Humble Discernment" to select teams based on chemistry rather than raw metrics.
Titans supported us. The Upsilon Sigma Phi Board of Trustees, led by Brod Roel Castro and Brod Yari Miralao, provided the bridge capital. Brod Manolet Ocampo ’69 became our financial backbone, while Brod Jay Santiago ’93 and Northcom Security delivered logistical miracles that made the event feel "better than a grand wedding reception."
The result was absolute. Team Alpha took the Championship. Standing right beside them as First Runner-Up was Team Bravo. We did not just win; we occupied the podium.
A Tribute to the Men on the Firing Line
History is written by the victors, but it is forged by the dedication of individuals who stand in the arena. We honor the brothers whose discipline, skill, and unbreakable unity translated our values into championship glory.
THE 2024 CHAMPIONS
The resilient warriors who overcame crisis to seize the first crown.
Dodie Lagman ’66 | Judo Bonifacio ’78 | Nino Albano ’2022 | Melo Jaluague ’2023 | Deo Marco ’2024
THE 2025 CHAMPIONS (Team Alpha)
The dominant force that secured the back-to-back victory.
Jay Santiago ’93 | Fil Sonza ’2022 | Nino Albano ’2022 | Melo Jaluague ’2023 | Deo Marco ’2024
THE 2025 1st RUNNER UP (Team Bravo)
The mentors and masters who stood shoulder to shoulder with their students.
Dodie Lagman ’66 | Judo Bonifacio ’78 | Jun Catapang ’84 | Zach Ruiz ’2019 | MJ Comia ’2021
The Eternal Echo
Now, in the twilight of my years, looking at the faces of my younger brothers listed above, I realize the absolute truth of our bond.
I want the next generation to understand this: The gun is irrelevant. The trophies gather dust. The "Three-Peat" will eventually become a footnote in our long history.
The real prize is the discipline required to stand alone in the dark and practice. It is the humility to accept coaching from a brother forty years your junior, that glorious victories and crushing defeats are just one impostors, just the same. It is the feeling of being young again among men who share your values, your history, and your love.
We have forged memories that will echo in eternity. We go forth not just as shooters, but as 'Keepers of the Light - as we Gather Light to Scatter'.
Ut Sursum Perennent!
About the Author
Dodie Lagman
Dodie Lagman '66 is a distinguished professional whose career spans high-level roles in investment and commercial banking, transitioning into a Global Certified Subject Matter Expert in Regulatory Compliance, specializing in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (CFT). His executive experience includes serving as a former Bank President and a Senior Executive Officer in the US, complemented by extensive consultancy work with universal banks, other financial institutions, and various government agencies, culminating in a role as a Senior Consultant at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Academically, Dodie Lagman holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Advance Military Science and Tactics from the University of the Philippines, a Masters in Strategic Business Economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction in Corporate Ethics and Compliance Risk Management from the John Cook Graduate School of Business at St. Louis University, Missouri, USA.
