Philippine Sports News and Updates

PHILIPPINE Bowling Congress president Steve Hontiveros, who is also the secretary-general of the Philippine Olympic Committee, said his association is still in the process of looking for a new coaching staff and members of the national training pool.

Hontiveros said this is because his two coaches, Caloy de Leon and Jing Poblete, have both resigned following the country’s failure to produce a gold medal in bowling in the recent 24th Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

The bowlers actually won a single silver medal, which was a big letdown considering that they won four golds and six silver medals three years ago in the 2005 SEA Games in Manila.

“What happened is that the coaches asked for a free hand in selecting the players, and made a guarantee that they can deliver. They said they were willing to sign a letter that they will resign if they fail to deliver. They honored their word, so we do not have a coaching staff nor a national training pool now,” said Hontiveros, a long-time bowling official who had retired from the sport during the ’90s but was persuaded to come back in the early 2000s.

Hontiveros said he had already asked the various bowling associations to recommend players for the training pool with last Saturday as the deadline for submission of names, but has yet to receive any.

“In which case, we will call a meeting with the ExeCom of PBC and discuss other options. We are open to anyone although we need a good foreign coach. Our target is that by March, we should have this in place with focus on the Asian championships this year and the SEA games next year,” added Hontiveros, whose term will be up to January 2009.