TACLOBAN CITY – One of the games being played by special athletes in the ongoing Palarong Pambansa in Leyte is bocce (lawn bowling).

First introduced in the national event, bocce is played by mentally- and physically-challenged athletes.

Bocce is an ancient game, with its modern adaptation most closely resembling bowling. But bocce is played on flat ground or grass.

The game requires skill, strategy as well as a little bit of luck.

It is played by two individuals or a team, who are to roll the bocce ball aiming for a smaller ball called “jack.” The team or individual with the closest bocce ball to the jack is the only one that can score points in any frame.

The scoring team receives one point for each of their balls that is closer to the jack than the closest ball of the other team or individual.

In this game, the mentally-challenged individuals are able to follow the rules and instructions of bocce, plus they get to enjoy at the same time.

“We would like to prove here that even if they are mentally-challenged, they are able to understand and follow rules. Through this, they feel that they are not useless,” said technical supervisor Bartolome Teneza.

Judel Casallo, a special athlete, was so happy when she won a bocce game. “I will play more to win gold,” Judel shyly said.

Student athletes who will be Palaro bocce champions will reportedly get the chance to play in an international bocce game.

Promoters of the ball game also said that they aim to propagate bocce to other regions for mentally-challenged individuals to play.