Bowling Bash

Bowling would always strike me as one of the more sedate activities in the plethora of human sports, often spared for an older set of city folk. However, the ABS-CBN Foundation’s Celebrity Bowl Event held last January in the Power Bowl Complex in Rockwell proved to me that this relatively simple pastime can be a sure-ball formula for afternoon fun, regardless of your final score.

Take Me Out To The Bowl Game

"They’re all already here. Come over!" my friend Mika Bautista of Rockwell Land replied on her cellphone. Shuffling through the red carpet and tight security at the main entrance, I realized that Mika had been generally referring to the hot pot of media personalities from Channel 2, Studio 23, ANC, and the Professional Models Association of the Philippines among others, who had come out of the woodwork to help the ABS-CBN network raise funds for the Bantay Kalikasan and Save the La Mesa Dam Projects. From famous sports fanatics like Gameplan’s Rovilson Fernandez to Olympic comedians like Home Along Da Airport’s Dolphy, a heap of personalities occupied every bowling seat, lane, and gutter in the area, forming special teams under the banner of the several corporate sponsors. Together with a battalion of roaming TV crews/photographers, a horde of spectators on the sidelines, and the voice of emcee Chinggay Andrada on the overhead speakers, the complex somewhat resembled a surreal cross between a PBA basketball game and ASAP Mania TV episode. With the thumping sound of balls rolling on the floor and the echo of pins falling in the distance, the celebrity men and women flexed their bowling arm over three long elimination rounds that Wednesday afternoon. On one end of the hall, Sports TV, together with its producer newscaster Itos Valdes, had set-up a small stage to cover the event, periodically recruiting a celebrity bowler from the adjacent lanes for a short on-cam interview. Meanwhile on the other end, ABS-CBN Foundation’s managing director Gina Lopez would skirt around the crowds to attend to the needs at hand while a TV camera would attempt to follow her and document her statements. After a few hours of continuous pin bashing, and not to mention a gazillion photo-ops between the bowlers and their fans, the Quizon Team, headed by a certain undisputed King of Comedy together with his clan, emerged as the winners of the celebrity exercise.

Striking The Strip

With the end of the amateur athletics upstairs, the whole cast and crew descended to the Rockwell Strip to engage in the more professional sport of eating. Located on opposite ends of the street, Mati and Teak restaurants, respectively headed by Lopez scions Geni Psinakis and Beaver Lopez, hosted the al fresco closed-door dinner for the hungry celebrities and private pass-bearing crowds. As the guests attempted to chow down the mounds of skewers, pasta, and roasted vegetables on their plates, several bands appeared one by one on the outdoor stage, playing a variety of lounge music which lasted until the wee hours of the morning.

Whether you’re an Olympian or orthopedically-challenged, bowling can give you that knock-out dose of physical and social exercise needed in life. To top it off, if you happen to be as lucky as these celebrities, you can even do your part in sparing the environment.

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E-mail the author at mybubbleboy@hotmail.com