SEASONED campaigners Merwin Tan and Alexis Sy hope to follow the footsteps of their youthful counterparts when they lead the national team swinging into action today in the 47th MWA-Singha Thailand International Open at the Blu-O Rhythm and Bowl lanes in Bangkok.
A double gold medalist in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games in 2021, Sy, the reigning Philippine International Open women’s champion, and Tan will spearhead the national squad at the venue that will be the site of the bowling event in the rescheduled Asian and Indoor Martial Arts Games next year.
This is the same arena where Art Barrientos won the boys masters gold medal while anchoring the squad that included Zach Sales Ramin, Stephen Diwa and Marc Dylan Custodio to the tea gold in the recent Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championships.
Joining Tan in the men’s squad are Singapore-based Ramin, Ivan Malig and Patrick Nuqui while the distaff also includes Grace Gella, Dyan Coronacion and Rachelle Leon.
American coach Joe Slowinski, who also mentored the national Youth squad, expressed high hopes the senior bowlers would also excel in the tournament.
“We’ve undergone transformation since March, with structured and strategic training yielding improved results,” he noted. “This trip marks the beginning of our team-building journey. I’m excited about the potential for the team to succeed, but we view this as a preparation event.
“Every shot counts and our goal is continuous improvement, reaching our peak performance when it matters most.”
