| Daniel Lim |
THE Filipino Bowlers Club held a two-day bowling tournament, as part of the 36th Southeast Asia Overseas Filipino Bowlers (SEAOFB) Invitational Bowling Tournament 2018, at the Grand Seria Bowling Centre, Seria, Belait District yesterday.
The tournament is part of a continuous initiative to gather Filipino bowlers from across the ASEAN member countries to showcase and share their bowling skills and talent with each other in a series of friendly bowling matches.
Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Brunei Darussalam Pete Raymond V Delfin, the guest of honour, officiated the start of the tournament. He was welcomed to the event by Filipino Bowlers Club (FBC) President Irene D Badilla.
Also present during the tournament’s opening ceremony were Deputy Permanent Secretary (Tourism) at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) Wardi bin Haji Mohammad Ali as special guest, as well as delegates from invited bowlers clubs from across the ASEAN member countries.
A total of 80 bowlers are competing in the tournament, which included delegates from the Filipino Bowlers Club (FBC) Brunei Darussalam, Filcomin Bowling Association (FBA) Indonesia and Pinoy Sports and Recreation Club (PSRC) Singapore.
FBC President Irene D Badilla in her opening speech expressed her gratitude for the delegates’ presence at the event and stressed on the importance of belongingness, stating that “it befittingly describes the Filipino community landscape found in the Philippines abroad, which have continuously brought great impact in the surrounding local community of each respective countries by being able to showcase the cohesiveness of the Filipinos”.
She added that “over the past years, our acquaintances has experienced phenomenal distinction from both local and international levels as United Oversea Filipino Workers”.
Such sentiment was reflected by the Deputy Permanent Secretary (Tourism) at the MPRT, who also addressed the bowlers that the tournament represents an opportunity to highlight the remarkable contributions made in many areas as overseas workers in Brunei Darussalam.
He said, “The Southeast Asia Overseas Filipino Bowlers indeed is a good example of how overseas workers abroad can play a key role as a cohesive and productive group.”
He added that the tournament provides a great platform for the bowlers, as sport plays an important role in promoting discipline and cohesiveness among team members, as well as providing opportunity to explore other nation’s exquisiteness.
His sentiment was further shared by the guest of honour, who commended the efforts made by FBC Brunei Darussalam in bringing together Filipino bowlers from across the ASEAN member countries to particpate in the tournament, saying, “We hope we can see more bowlers participating in next year’s tournament.”
He also expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Brunei Darussalam towards the Filipino community for encouraging wellness and spirit of sportsmanship by organising events such as the bowling tournament, saying that such activities are encouraged and supported by the embassy.
Following the opening speeches and remarks, the participating bowlers took an oath of sportsmanship in front of the guest of honour and special guest.
The guest of honour and special guest received tokens of appreciation from the FBC Brunei Darussalam President and met with the tournament participants.
The tournament is split into several events such as All-Events, Grand Slam Event and Masters Event.
Each event is also host to several other categories; All-Events will see bowlers compete in Single as well as Team Events, while the Masters Event will see bowlers compete in five categories, which are Open Category Master, Men’s Graded A Masters, Men’s Graded B Masters, Ladies Graded A Masters, and Ladies Graded B Masters.
The tournament is slated to be held until today afternoon, with the closing ceremony to be held tonight.
Following the conclusion of this year’s 36th SEAOFB, the next tournament is expected to be held in Indonesia some time next year.