Spinning Together

By Mark T. Catague

Iloilo has a way of building communities around the things people enjoy. We call it dagyaw—people showing up, pitching in, and creating something together. Sometimes it’s through fiestas or neighborhood activities. Sometimes, it’s around a Beyblade stadium where spinning tops collide.

On most weekends, one of those spaces comes alive inside Robinsons Pavia. You don’t have to look very hard. Just follow the sound of spinning tops crashing into one another, then listen for the familiar countdown.

“3, 2, 1… Go Shoot!”

For many people, Beyblade is simply a childhood memory. It brings back images of playgrounds, recess, and Japanese-made spinning tops from the early 2000s. But Beyblade X has quietly changed that perception. What some once saw simply as a toy has become a hobby that rewards preparation, creativity, and skill.

Winning isn’t simply a matter of luck. Players choose combinations of parts based on how they want their Beyblade to perform: whether for attack, defense, stamina, or a balance of all three. The way a Beyblade is assembled, how it is launched, and tiny differences in weight, balance, and launch technique can all affect the outcome of a match.

While our local scene was growing, Beyblade was finding new life elsewhere, too. Around the world, adults and younger players have embraced the hobby, finding a reason to step away from screens and gather in person. Major competitions, including the Beyblade X World Championship 2025 in Tokyo and the 2026 Beyblade X SEA Cup in Singapore, have brought together players from different countries to compete on the same stage, with Filipino Bladers among those taking part. For a small community in Iloilo, that connection matters. The people gathering around our stadiums are part of a much larger world of players doing the same thing in cities far beyond our country.

But our own story has been years in the making. The community has gathered in different corners of the city. Starting from early tournaments at the legendary Marymart Mall, to casual meetups at the now-closed Coffee, Tea or Me? shop in Jaro, battles on the second floor of SpeedCity, and weekends at The Homegrowns. In 2025, Bhive Hotel generously hosted most of our weekend gatherings and gave us a place to continue growing.

There was a time when a “good turnout” meant eight to twelve people showing up for a weekly meetup. We brought our own stadiums, shared parts and launchers, and hoped curious passersby would stop long enough to ask what we were doing. Looking around today, it’s hard not to smile at how far those small gatherings have come.

Robinsons Pavia has become our regular community hub. Curious shoppers often stop to watch a match before asking how they can join. Once or twice each month, the focus shifts to Toy Mart at Festive Walk Mall for officially sanctioned Beyblade X tournaments, where some of Iloilo’s strongest Bladers test their skills.

Teams such as The Hustlers, T1 BladeRunners, and Tempest Bladers have helped raise the level of competition in the city. Yet rivalries rarely stay inside the stadium. Families cheer from the sidelines. Competitors compare combinations after the finals. Experienced players explain techniques to newcomers. Someone is almost always willing to lend a launcher or share a spare part. Maybe that’s why so many people come back the following weekend, even after an early elimination.

In a time when so much of our interaction happens through screens, gathering around a Beyblade stadium feels refreshingly different. It isn’t unusual to see a grade-school student facing someone old enough to be their parent, each with a legitimate chance of winning. Parents don’t simply watch; they play. Conversations begin with Beyblades, but often drift into work, school, family, and everyday life.

Another milestone came in July 2026, when the Iloilo Beyblade Community Inc. formally registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a non-profit organization. The certificate is more than paperwork. It gives the organization a formal structure as it looks toward sustaining organized play, hosting more activities, and creating opportunities for players beyond the weekly meetup.

Long before the first match, someone is already setting up stadiums. Another person is checking players in. Someone lends a launcher to a first-time player, while others stay behind after everyone has gone home to pack everything away. Those moments rarely appear in photographs, yet they are what keep everything going.

I’m fortunate to have a wife who has quietly supported many of those weekends, reminding me that every hobby is sustained not only by the people who play, but also by the people who believe in them.

The community has also found ways to keep everyone connected through ilobbx.com and the LBW Blader League Facebook page, where players can check tournament announcements, schedules, rankings, and community updates. What once depended largely on word of mouth can now be organized and shared with players across the city and beyond.

It started with people bringing their own stadiums, sharing what they had, and inviting strangers to play one more round. For us, Beyblade has become more than a hobby. It has become another way for Ilonggos to practice dagyaw—sharing time, knowledge, and encouragement with people who, more often than not, begin as strangers.

So the next time you hear a crowd counting down:

“3, 2, 1… Go Shoot!”

Take a moment to see what all the excitement is about.

You may discover that the loudest sound isn’t the clash of spinning tops.

It’s the sound of a community coming together.