OUR COUNTRY has produced bowling legends like six-time World Bowling Champion Paeng Nepomuceno, and Bong Coo, the most decorated Filipino athlete in any sport with 78 total national team medals and 137 championships titles. Both are inaugural members of the International Bowling Hall of Fame. Yet, the modern bowling scene sees little support and coverage, especially on the collegiate level.
Being the only university bowling team in the Philippines has been tough for the Ateneo Bowling Team (ABT) as it has been two years since the they last competed in a tournament. The lack of collegiate competition has prompted the team to shift their focus from competitions to holding charity events in partnership with Gawad Kalinga (GK).
In 2008, the ABT hosted the Asian Universities Bowling Championship (AUBC), where both local and international schools participated. However, lack of funding and sponsorships have stifled the event as the last AUBC was held three years ago. Although the team planned to bring it back in February this year, the same issues hindered the return of the event.
Growing pains
The 1990s saw a greater rise for bowling in the country. As the local bowling community grew in the Philippines, this prompted visionary bowler Francis de Leon to form a collegiate team in the Ateneo during Academic Year (A.Y.) 1995-1996. De Leon became the team’s first Head Coach.
The team’s current coach, Stewart Uy, who came in A.Y. 2000-2001, notes that the same problems from de Leon’s time persist until today. “[Early on,] we had really good bowlers, [but] lack of competitions hampered the team,” says Uy.
Even training can be a difficulty as it is self-funded and is outside of school. Every Saturday, practices would be held in different bowling alleys, with each member having to pay PHP 120 per training session. The university does provide funding for the team, although it is unable to cover the team’s overall expenses.
Work in progress
Despite these problems, there are 33 students who still choose to stay with the team for their own distinct reasons, which allows for the team to continue to exist.
Sophomore Anton Marquez has taken the reigns as the ABT’s captain. While struggles to join tournaments continue to woe the team, Marquez has quietly built a name for himself in the Philippine bowling community.
“I’ve probably won around 30 tournaments, but then major ones, [I’d say] eight.” His most treasured bowling memory to date is joining and winning in the 35th Pasig Bowling Association Bowling Championship in 2015, where he had to win three straight matches in a step-ladder format to claim the title. “Coming from fourth, I went back to winning the championship,” recounts Marquez.
Bowling prowess runs in the Marquez family. Anton, who boasts of scoring 300 in one game (a perfect game), started off bowling as a leisurely activity when he was younger. After showing much potential, the promising Marquez was groomed to play competitive bowling by his father, Mark Marquez, who was part of the RP Team pool.
Patrick Reyes, a management sophomore, has a different reason for joining the team. Having devoted his blood, sweat, and tears as a goalkeeper in La Salle Green Hills, entering Ateneo as a regular student was a fairly new experience for him.
Being away from the sport he loved, he sought to replicate the feeling of being a student athlete in the college division. After finding out about tryouts, he applied and was luckily selected.
“I really missed the feeling,” mentions Reyes. “I guess joining the Bowling Team was an avenue for me to release my competitive spirit. It’s just sad that we don’t get to compete as a team that much.”
Moving forward
The Ateneo pioneers in more ways than one, and the mere existence of the ABT is already unique in and of itself. However, ABT is not just there to exist; it still remains an active organization because passionate bowlers want to grow and compete in a sport that Filipinos have proven to excel at.
Despite all difficulties that ABT has to face, members of the team still choose to stay simply for the love of the sport.
Uy believes that the reinvigoration of the sport will begin with the youth. He cites the presence of bowling in other schools in order to build up the community. “Our goal is to compete against other schools—to push bowling among schools because the future of the bowling community relies on the youth,” says Uy.
While Marquez could just take off on his own, he has chosen to stay to cultivate and share his love for bowling with others. Whether one is already seasoned or a newcomer, he remains open to anyone interested in the sport.
“[Ateneo Bowling] is more of trying to learn and having passion for the sport,” says Marquez.
