Competing with little fanfare, standouts of the Gun Club of Negros Occidental pulled off another victory overseas, validating the Philippines ' claim of being one of the world's top countries in practical shooting.

Stephen Hinojales, Janette Gonzaga and Tootsie Anglo took turns in providing the country shining moments in the prestigious AustralAsia Shootfest in Pattaya, Chorburi province in Thailand .

Gonzaga, the GCNO president, ruled the standard (.40 caliber) ladies division of the Dec. 4-9 event, while Anglo brought home three trophies in the production division (.9mm) --- the senior shoot-off title, second overall and second overall in the senior contest.

For his part, Hinojales took third in the open division and helped the country secure the men's team title, together with open champion Jag Lejano, who is also the reigning World Shoot champion. Also part of the team were JJ Morales and Blairwin Ortega.

GCNO honorary member Athena Lee, the Cagayan de Oro-born 1999 World Shoot champion, delivered another victory when she topped the open ladies division.

Lee is seeing action for the United States in international tournaments. Gonzaga said the lack of support for the sport in the Philippines prompted Lee to represent the US , instead in international events.

Gonzaga said this year's tournament, a level 4 event and held only every three years, was the biggest with more than 30 countries participating.

The highest rating for an international tournament is level 5, where the World Shoot is categorized, Gonzaga.

European countries like the Czech Republic , Finland , Austria , France , Norway and Germany , among others, had entries in the six-day, 24-stage event, where over 600 shooters saw action.

“We are happy that we brought honor for the country, although shooting, as a sport, receives little attention from the government,” she said.

The event marks the fifth time that GCNO saw action in an international tournament in Thailand .

“At least, we try our best to win a trophy each time we compete abroad and we have done it the past five years,” Gonzaga added.*CPT

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