Suarez, Canare hope to end ‘WC’ drought

No other Filipino has won the World Cup title since Paeng Nepomuceno nailed his fourth crown in 1996. But with the right frame of mind, proper motivation and solid support, CJ Suarez and Jojo Canare hope to end the six-year drought in the Olympics of bowling.

Suarez and Canare gained the right to represent the country in the prestigious World Cup slated Sept. 27-Oct. 4 at the Planet Sipangco bowling center in Tegucigalpa, Honduras by topping the World Cup national finals at the Bowling Inn Manila over the weekend.

Suarez defeated R.J. Bautista 2 out of 3 games in the men’s division and Canare bested Liza del Rosario, also 2 out of 3 games, in the women’s side of the event.

Nepomuceno, regarded as one of the finest bowlers in the world, has won the World Cup men’s championship four times (1976, 1980, 1992, 1996). Two Filipinas – Lita dela Rosa in 1978 and Bong Coo the following year — have also won the women’s crown.

The country’s bowlers have bagged several second place finishes in both the men’s and women’s divisions.

But Suarez and Canare won’t settle for anything less.

They are expected to compete against players from 90 countries, headed by defending men’s champion Mike Luoto of Finland and 2002 women’s titleholder Shannon Pluhowsky of the USA who both qualified for the Honduras meet marking the first time both the men’s and women’s champions are returning to defend their titles.

The number of former champions competing in Tegucigalpa now stands five. In addition to Luoto and Pluhowsky, 1984 men’s champion Tore Torgensen of Norway, 1999 men’s champion Ahmed Shaheen of Qatar, and 2000 men’s champion Tomas Leandersson of Sweden have won their national qualifying tournaments.

Coronado Lanes, exclusive distributor of AMF Bowling and Billiards products in the Philippines, will join Puyat Sports in sponsoring the trip of Suarez and Canare to the event.