■ Ofelia C. Empian
In her first outing this year, the country’s top lady darter Giselle Bulahao ruled the P500,000 Tito Soncuya Cup 2024 National Darts Tournament on Jan. 20 to 22.
Hailing from Tuba, Benguet, Bulahao of Kumpadres Adan Builders Co. outscored Mymy Santos of Taytay, Rizal who placed second in the ladies singles during the event held at the Marikina Convention Center in Marikina City.
The latter is the fourth best rank lady darter in the country according to the National Darts Federation of the Philippines.
Bulahao ruled all 26 players in the ladies singles during the NDFP-sanctioned event, which will be the basis for ranking of top darters in the country.
On third to fourth place were Janjan Hinojales of Robson-Davao City followed by Layden De Jesus of MCDC, who hails from Baguio City. Hinojales is NDFP’s ranked number two while De Jesus is on the fifth spot in the latest quarterly ranking in the country.
In the fifth to eighth spots were Anne Cabutin of IDart, Edna Granada of Tulips, Bebang Orbeta of MCDC and teammate Angie Detablan.
The event was in partnership with the Marikina City government and supported by Chris Sports, Endpoint.ph, Overtime Sports Bar.
Last year, Bulahao was hailed as Chris Sports Lady Darter of the year after completing a total of 28 ladies singles events, as recognized by the NDFP.
She brought home 18 championship titles, five second place titles, four top four placements and one top eight placement.
This includes ruling the Malaysian Open and Johor Open 2023 ladies’ singles titles in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia where she defeated Indian national champion Mahi Bosmia, 3-0, during the finals of the Malaysian Open.
NDFP is a non-profit organization that aims to set a standard for darts as a professional sport.
