RIYADH, 21 February 2003 — The 2003 Annual Haj Goodwill Games All Filipino Bowling Tournament hosted by the Overseas Filipino Tenpin Bowlers of Riyadh (OFWBR) is a resounding success! The goodwill tournament was held from Feb. 11 to 13, 2003 at the Inter-Continental Hotel Bowling Center , Riyadh and was participated in by 144 bowlers all over the regions of the Kingdom.
The clubs that participated in the prestigious annual bowling tourney are the following: The Filipino Tenpin Bowlers of Jeddah (FTBJ) and the Brotherhood Bowling Group (BBG) represented by its delegation heads Messrs. Rally Zamora, Arnold Alday and Emy de Guzman. FTBJ/BBG sent a strong contingent of 5 teams to see action on the lanes.
The cream of the FTBJ/BBG talents the likes of Cris Villavelez, Hashim Guinomla, Rally Zamora, Goying Salazar, were on hand to provide inspiration and support to the up coming stars of Jeddah. The presence of highly-respected Mr. Emy de Guzman spiced up the inspiration of the Jeddah delegation to prove their mettle on the lanes. The ever-amiable Arnold Alday, though out of the Kingdom at the time, was kept up-to-date of the delegations performance and provided the so called “long distance” inspiration.
The Filipino Tenpin Bowlers, Eastern Region (FILBOWLER) and the Khobar’s 500 Bowlers equally sent a strong contingent of 11 teams. FILBOWLER is represented by its delegation head, Boy Tuazon while Khobar’s 500 Bowlers by its chairperson, Jun Canar
The delegates missed the presence of the veteran southpaw, Ely Soberano, 2001 Haj Goodwill Games Master’s Champion and 2001 Single’s Event Champion at the 4th GCC Annual Bowling Tour in Abu Dhabi. Nevertheless, FILBOWLER romped away with the Team Event Championship given the power-packed team up of Ed “Tiger” Mendoza, Dr. Jun “Mr. Pure Energy” Arcano, Gerard Emmanuel and Ronnie Bernardo.
As ever, the amiable and the indefatigable Sotero “Boy” Tornea, OWWA Supervising Welfare Officer of the Eastern Region, was on hand to provide moral support to the FILBOWLER delegates and the The Asir Tenpin Bowling League (ATBL) and the Asir 500 Bowlers is represented by delegation head Vher Crisostomo. Asir is more than 1000 kms away from Riyadh. However, ATBL’s ardent desire to join this yearly prestigious tourney defied the distance and the peril of long travel on the road. One of the cars they were riding into met accident on the way with one of the bowlers ending up with seven stitches on the head. But as the saying goes, “the show must go on!” We salute our ATBL bowlers for such an astute display of exceptional spirit of sportsmanship and commitment to participate in the 2003 OFWBR Haj Goodwill Games. ATBL sent in three (3) teams to this tourney; and certainly
The Overseas Filipino Workers Bowlers of Riyadh (OFWBR) represented by its Chairman Noli Ritual. OFWBR fielded a total of 17 teams, a huge contingent by far and a widely-participated in tournament by the Riyadh-based bowlers.
The simple but meaningful opening ceremony was held on Feb. 10, 2003 at the White Palace Hotel Function Hall and graced by His Excellency Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla, Ms. Carmelita Hidalgo, Cultural Officer of the Philippine Embassy and Jun Arenas, Finance Officer, as well as the various major sponsors of the tournament and the special participation of Fesscor Talent Center-Performing Arts Group who rendered songs and dances which added more glitters to the opening ceremony with Vic Barrazona acted as the emcee of the affair.
In his inspirational speech, His Excellency, Ambassador Guinomla, extolled the bowlers for the fine example that they are giving to the Filipino community in general for a well-organized Haj Goodwill Games, showcasing the natural talent and sports-mindedness of Filipinos. He emphasized the need for the Riyadh bowlers in particular to unite and form a unified or a federated bowling club, wherein all the other bowling organizations in Riyadh are recognized and equally represented.
The Ambassador designated Jun Arenas to head the task of unifying all these bowling clubs in Riyadh. He also praised Noli Ritual’s dedication and hardwork despite of the odds he encountered from the other bowlers who managed to hold a very well organized event, the best ever bowling tournament to be ever held in the City of Riyadh, the 2003 Annual Haj Goodwill Games All Filipino Kingdomwide Bowling Tournament.
The ambassador, a bowler himself by avocation, thanked all the delegations that came in to Riyadh and praised their dedication and enthusiasm to the sport. He prides himself of having a son – a rising and shining star in the bowling circuit, Hashim Guinomla, whose cool and unassuming style endears him to the bowlers in the Kingdom and the rest of the GCC.
The ambassador wished everyone good luck in their games and a happy stay in Riyadh, emphasizing the mission of the Goodwill Games “Pagkakaisa at Pagkakaibigan ng mga Pilipino sa Ibayong Dagat.”
He praised the OFWBR Organizing Committee for having done such a wonderful job of organizing and hosting the prestigious 2003 Annual Haj Goodwill Games All Filipino Bowling Tournament.
