Tabanas, Sarines twins carry PH youth wave to Taiwan
MANILA, Philippines — Sixteen-year-old Isabella Tabanas gets her first taste of professional golf when she joins fellow ICTSI-backed amateurs Lisa and Mona Sarines in the Kenda Tire Cup, which gets under way Wednesday (Sept. 23) at the Taichung International Country Club in Taichung, Taiwan.
The NT$4-million championship, the 16th leg of the LPGA of Taiwan Tour, is co-sanctioned by the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour and brings together the leading players from the LPGT and a strong international field.
For Tabanas, however, the 54-hole event represents more than just another tournament – it marks her maiden appearance on the TLPGA, giving the promising Cagayan de Oro junior an early opportunity to test her game against seasoned professionals and top amateurs from across Asia.
Tabanas, who has committed to play collegiate golf for Texas A&M University-Kingsville, is the latest addition to ICTSI’s growing stable of young players being given assistance and international exposure as part of a long-term program aimed at developing golfers capable of competing on the world stage.
She will be joined by the Sarines twins, Lisa and Mona, who are also regarded as among the promising young talents in Philippine golf. The sisters have made early strides as junior golfers, gaining valuable experience in local and international competitions and steadily building the credentials that have marked them as potential future players on the LPGT.
The three youngsters will have plenty to learn from the seasoned Filipina pros in the field, led by ICTSI-backed Yvon Bisera and Princess Superal, and Harmie Constantino, while also getting a firsthand look at the level required to compete successfully on the professional circuit.
Kiara Montebon, 20, is also on the ICTSI roster. An incoming Biology junior, she competes for Chicago State University in US NCAA Division I.
Tabanas hails from Cagayan de Oro and regularly plays at Del Monte Golf Club and Pueblo de Oro. She has competed in several tournaments in the United States since 2023 and continued her rise with a successful campaign in the FCG Collegiate Series Spring Classic at Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook, California last April.
She heads into her first TLPGA tournament with enthusiasm and a clear development goal, hoping to sharpen her short game and improve her recovery shots around the green.
Her presence, together with that of the Sarines twins, underscores the continuing push to give the country's next generation of golfers meaningful exposure beyond junior competition.
Meanwhile, Bisera banners a crack 20-player LPGT contingent in the Kenda Tire Cup, seeking a breakthrough victory for the Filipinas in a partnership with the TLPGA that dates back to 2015, with the first co-sanctioned event held in 2018.
Bisera enters the tournament as the Philippines' leading threat after winning two of the first five LPGT legs this season and placing runner-up in another. But she will be challenged by a talented group that includes Superal, Constantino, Mafy Singson, Sarah Ababa and Korean LPGT regular Jiwon Lee. TMT
