Tan helps Team PH to two more bowl medals in Asian youth championships

Merwin Tan added two more medals to the Philippine cache in the 20th Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championships in Sarawak, Malaysia, just days after ruling the boy’s singles.

The 19-year-old Tan, a national team mainstay, helped the boys’ team of four to a silver medal after joining forces with Kenzo Umali, Kayle Abad and Patrick Nuqui.

They accumulated 4,996 pinfalls in six games and finished behind the Singaporean quartet of Brandon Ong, Eugene Yeo, Xavier Teo and Jomond Chia, which rolled a total of 5,123.

Tan seized a bronze later in the all events, putting together 3,860 in a thrilling showdown against eventual gold winner Ong of Singapore (4,103) and silver medalist Muhammad Hafiz (3,933) of Malaysia.

It capped a successful week for the Philippine Bowling Federation (PBF), which has been investing heavily on its youth programs to bring back the country’s glory days in the sport, even providing the players with a mental coach to help their technical skills.

“In our current program, we have included days where they do strength and conditioning and sessions with a mental coach to toughen our bowlers, especially during crunch time,” said Alex Lim, chair of the PBF’s youth committee.

“But all these will not succeed without the trust and faith of the players themselves in the coaches. In the end, it is the bowlers who must possess the discipline and the drive to excel,” Lim added.

The PBF, which has Hall of Famers Bong Coo and Paeng Nepomuceno onboard, hired mental skills coach Marcus Manolo to complement technical coaches Biboy Rivera and Jojo Canare.