I just interviewed a team of intellectually-disabled bowlers who recently won 5 gold medals in an invitational in Singapore. The team, composed of Robin Clarino, Mark Inductivo, Bryan Robles, Joy Bautista, Jonny Zulueta, Anton Silos and coached by Cristy Canizares and Atty. Gani Zulueta, competed against over a hundred others bowlers from Singapore and Malaysia to make the country proud.
The interview for Bandera truly warmed my heart as I saw how these young intellectually-disabled bowlers knew how to represent the country well. Despite their disablility, they essentially knew that they were not only playing for themselves but for the country as well. One of the bowlers, Anton Silos, in fact, was awarded a gold medal for obtaining the highest total pinfalls among over a hundred bowlers to successfully label the Philippines as the best.
At a time when a highly popular national team is insisting to represent the country in a regional meet despite its terrible record, it is truly amazing to find a little known team that has overcome great odds to represent the country in the best possible way. I am truly honored to have met and interviewed such an incredible and inspiring team of bowlers. I just hope that people get to know its incredible story and allow the team to bring more honor and glory to the country, from here and abroad.
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