Pinoy darters romp with honors in Malaysian event

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino darters sparkled as they swept the major awards in the recent 2014 Malaysian Open darts tournament at Premier Hotel in Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.

The Filipinos emerged champions in men’s and ladies’ singles, men’s singles soft tip and the premier division of the team competition.

Arnie Ticman took the ladies’ crown, Juanito “Boy” Gionson ruled the men’s singles steel tip championship and Dixie Ybanez took the men’s singles soft tip title.

Carrying the colors of Shanghai Darts Sinapore, Filipino campaigners Louie Soriano, Boie Parfan, Ricky Santiago, Jaypee Detavlan, Archie Limpahan, Ray Rondilla, Froy Socco and Roland Mirabueno reigned in the team competition.

The Filipinos whipped elite darters from Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and host Malaysia in the 14-year tournament which offered a prize of 95,000 Malaysian dollars.

Filipino darters have consistently triumphed in the Malaysian competition, with Ronald Briones and Bruno Parungao prevailing in men’s singles in 2010 and 2012, respectively.