CEBUANOS Jomar Jumapao and Alexis Sy will join the Philippine men’s and women’s bowling team in the 2014 Asian Games on Sept. 19 to Oct. 4 in Incheon, South Korea.
The Cebuano bowlers went through a series of eliminations before securing one of the six spots in the men’s and women’s divisions. The top 16 bowlers in the country were recruited to join the training pool but only the top six were picked for the Asian Games.
“We went through nine days of tryouts and played about six games a day. It’s a good thing we were able to land in the top six spots in our divisions,” said Sy.
Sy, 22, a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration of Centro Escolar University in Manila, has been in the national team since 2008. She considers this her second-highest tournament that she will be competing in.
Sy played in the 2013 World Championships in Las Vegas and finished 15th overall among 100 participants.
“I am expecting to have a better finish because there’s time to train harder since the Asian Games is in September yet. However, it’s going to be a tough field since it will be composed of the top bowlers from Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia, and I believe they are also training hard,” said Sy. “But the Philippine team will be ready as well and will give them a good fight.”
Aside from Sy, the other bowlers are Krizziah Tabora, Lara Posadas, Liza Clutario, Liza Del Rosario and Anne Marie Kiac.
The men’s team is composed of Jumapao, Kenneth Chua, Enzo Hernandez, Biboy Rivera, Benshir Layoso and Frederick Ong.
Jumapao, 24, said this is his first year in the national team and he feels blessed he will be able to compete in the Asian Games.
“I am so happy that I will be representing the country in the Asian Games. This is my first time in this prestigious tournament. I also feel so blessed to qualify because I was not really expecting it,” he said. “All I did during the series of try-outs was to play my best.” ISL