Pinoy bowlers flagged for excess baggage on the way to Asian Games

JAKARTA - Even before it heads to Indonesia for the 18th Asian Games, the national bowling team is already weighed down due to the excess baggage caused by the number of bowling balls each kegler is bringing over for the sportsfest.

“The allowed (baggage) weight for each athlete is 30 kilos but our bowlers are (bringing) six to seven balls each, or more than 40 kilos, so excess talaga sila,” noted Philippine Bowling Federation secretary general Bong Coo from Manila in a message on Facebook messenger.

The Filipino keglers were scheduled to fly out to Palembang on Friday and will see action at the newly-renovated Jakabaring Bowling Center inside the Jakabaring Sports Complex.

The 12-man PH team is led by head coach and four-time World Cup champion Paeng Nepomuceno with former national team mainstays Biboy Rivera and Jojo Canares as his deputies for the men’s and women’s squads, respectively.

Among its members are Merwin Tan and Kenzo Umali, who were members of the four-man squad that bagged the boys team bronze medal in the recent world youth bowling championships held Detroit, Michigan. 

Coo pointed out the PBF would have to shell out at least P140,000 for the overload from Jakarta to Palembang alone, and much more from Jakarta to Manila, if the airline does not budge on its policy.

She said that while the Philippine Sports Commission has assured the PBF that it would reimburse the amount for the costs, “masakit pa rin sa bulsa.”

The country is aiming to end an eight-year drought in the quadrennial meet since Rivera ruled the men’s singles event in the 2010 Asiad held in Guangzhou, China. —18TH ASIAN GAMES POOL