Vargas inducts new PBF officers

With world-class Filipino bowlers past and present on its side, there’s no doubt the Philippine Bowling Federation is the legitimate national sport association for tenpin bowling in the country.

The Philippine Olympic Committee solidified its recognition of the local bowling federation when president Ricky Vargas inducted the newly elected officers of the PBF on Saturday.

The induction coincided with the opening of the 2nd PBF Philippine International Open Championships at Coronado Lanes in Starmall, Mandaluyong City, where World Cup champion Krizziah Tabora and the entire national team will challenge the best foreign bowlers from nine other participating countries.

“This is a very strong group of leaders. They are all bowlers, they all love the sport and they went through the process,” said Vargas after swearing in the top officials led by PBF president Steve Robles and chair Sen. Tito Sotto.

“They have one vision and one goal. They all want to bring back the glory days of bowling and that for me is motivation enough to pursue that dream,” added Vargas.

Asian Indoor Games silver medalist Kenneth Chua is the defending champion in the men’s open title while veteran Lara Posadas is looking to retain the women’s open plum in the tournament supported by Pagcor.

Filipino bowling greats Paeng Nepomuceno, head coach of the team, and Bong Coo, the current PBF secretary general, believe that the two-week meet will prepare the national bowlers well for the coming Asian Games in Indonesia.

The national bowlers will face opponents from Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Guam and Brunei during the tournament sponsored by Smart Communications, Cafe Puro and Boysen.

The men’s and women’s teams were presented to the media together with former champions and PBF assistant coaches Biboy Rivera, Jojo Canare and Rey Reyes.