JAKARTA—It’s the same problem that bugs the Filipino bowlers again and again.
They always are overweight—excess baggage that is.
With the number of bowling balls that each kegler brings to the games, this time the 18th Asian Games, it is normal that a lot of extra fees have to be paid in excess.
“The allowed [baggage] weight for each athlete is 30 kilos but our bowlers bring six to seven balls each, or more than 40 kilos, so excess talaga sila,” Philippine Bowling Federation Secretary-General Bong Coo said.
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-member squad 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 in 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 2019 Asiad held in Guangzhou, China.