LOVELY Mae “Bebang” Orbeta etched her name in Philippine sports history after capturing the country’s first-ever gold medal at the World Darts Federation (WDF) World Cup, highlighting a landmark campaign for Filipino darters in Gyeonggi-do, Korea.
Orbeta delivered a stunning performance in the women’s singles final, defeating the USA’s Paula Murphy in a tense showdown.
The Cebuana darter showed her composure on the world stage, having already made waves in the semifinals by overpowering Germany’s Irina Armstrong, 6–2, where she fired three 180s to stamp her dominance.Her breakthrough triumph not only gave the Philippines its maiden WDF World Cup gold but also underscored the growing strength of Filipino darters in international competition.
“This victory is for the country and for all Filipino darters,” Orbeta said after the historic win, dedicating her gold medal to the community that has long supported her journey.
The Philippines also saw strong team showings. The Women’s Team reached the semifinals after toppling Canada, 9–3, in the Round of 16, while the Men’s squad impressed with Alexis Toylo and Noel Maclidem advancing to the semifinals of the Open Pairs.
Filipino excellence carried over to the Korea Open, where Lourence Ilagan added another jewel to his storied career by clinching the WDF Gold Ranking Event title. Ilagan beat Australia’s Raymond Smith, 6–4, to secure his third career WDF ranking event crown and his first since the Malaysia Open in 2015. Paolo Nebrida also reached the quarterfinals to cap the Philippine contingent’s strong run.
The National Darts Federation of the Philippines (NDFP) credited the historic campaign to the support of sponsors and partners including Art Longyapon of Kumpadres, Jeff Soncuya of Robson Sportscraft, Bem Noel of Overtime Sports Bar, PAGCOR, the Philippine Sports Commission, and San Miguel Corporation.
