Diego Dario
Diego Miguel Dario is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Quezon Huskers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. A high school standout, he has played for the Philippine national under-17 team. He is also a former collegiate star player for the UP Fighting Maroons and has since won a PBA championship with Meralco. He is also an analyst for One Sports.
Early life and high school career
Dario was born in San Juan, Metro Manila. His father taught him basketball at the age of five. He then joined basketball camps and tried out for grade school varsity.At 5”1, Dario tried out for the varsity team of the University of the Philippines Integrated School. He got cut as he was too short. That did not deter him as he did extra work with his father. He patterned his game after the likes of Kyrie Irving and Chris Paul. A change in his diet also helped him grow six more inches.
The following year, Dario made the team. He became one of the scoring leaders of the entire UAAP juniors division, averaging 19.2 points per game while also averaging 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He also got to play in the 2014 NBTC All-Star Game and the SLAM Rising Stars Classic.
College career
UP Fighting Maroons
After his stint with UPIS, Dario had college offers from other schools, including Ateneo de Manila. He chose to stay with UP's program, as his parents and brother had studied in UP.Dario missed several games of his rookie season during UAAP Season 77 due to commitments to play in the FIBA U17 World Championship. In his debut, he scored six points off the bench in a lopsided loss to the NU Bulldogs. He then had 10 points in a loss to the FEU Tamaraws. In the final game of the season, he led with 13 points, but they lost to the Adamson Soaring Falcons. With the loss, they only won one game that season.
In Season 78, Dario scored 15 points in a loss to the UST Growling Tigers followed by 10 points in a loss to FEU. Against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, he led with 14 points. They finished the season 3–11, which was still better than its combined record from the past two UAAP seasons.
From Seasons 79 to 80, Dario had less playing time from 17 minutes in his first two seasons to just 11.9. During this time, he got to participate in the UAAP's first ever Three-Point Contest.
In a loss to UST during the first round of eliminations of Season 81, Dario scored 10 points. After the first round, UP had a record of 3–4. After another loss to begin the second round, he, Paul Desiderio, and other graduating players called a seniors-only meeting to discuss improvements, which they then suggested to the coaches. With their suggestions quickly implemented, they also resolved to practice harder. Against UE, he scored eight straight points in the fourth quarter to lead UP to a win, and finished with 13 points. He then missed a game as he got accidentally hit in the neck in practice, and had to be hospitalized. Still, UP made it back to the Final Four for the first time in 21 years. There they beat Adamson for their first finals appearance in 28 years.
Professional career
Blackwater Elite
Dario applied for the 2018 PBA Draft after UP returned to the UAAP finals. There he was picked in the third round, 24th overall by the Blackwater Elite. He signed with the team for one year. In a loss to the Magnolia Hotshots during the 2019 Philippine Cup, he scored 11 points. His contract was then extended for another year.On June 11, 2021, Dario was cut from the Elite. Initially, they wanted him for their PBA 3x3 team. However, Blackwater backed out of the tournament. In 17 games played with the Elite, he averaged 2.4 points and 1.5 assists per contest.