Junior bowler coach Biboy Rivera believes the national youth bowlers would definitely be a huge boost to Philippine bowling’s campaign in three remaining overseas tournaments this year after a successful performance of the boys’ youth team in the 2018 World Bowling Youth Championship in Michigan, USA.
After capturing a bronze medal in the boys’ team event of the World Youth Championship, the Philippine Bowling Federation is setting its sights on winning gold medals in the Indonesia Asian Games, upcoming World Men’s Championship in Hong Kong and Asian School in Taiwan.
“A bronze that glittered like gold. I’m very happy and satisfied with their performance,” said the 44-year-old Rivera, referring to the recent performance of his boys’ youth team, composed of Kenzo Umali, Merwin Tan, Praise Gahol and Ivan Malig in the World Youth Championship in the US.
“They surpassed my expectations in terms of unity, playing bowling and behavior. We never expected to win, marami kasing malalakas and this is an eye opener,” Rivera added.
The last time the Philippines won a medal in the World Youth Championship was in 1992, when Angelo Constantino captured the singles’ gold in Venezuela.
“There is no other way but to go up. They feel and realize na kaya pala nila, so our next goal is gold. That’s our target in these next tournaments, gold,” added Rivera, who thanked the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Boysen, Cebuanna Lhuiller, PAGCOR, Smart, and Comfoods for their support to the bowlers.
Umali said the bronze-medal achievement should motivate them in future competitions.
“It is something amazing that we achieved but it is not something that we should not let get into our heads. That is something that motivates us to continue playing the sports we love,” said Umali, noting they should raise the bar higher in the next tournaments.
“For the next tournaments, we could [turn that bronze into a gold],” added Umali. “I think the next time we go out, we will be more confident and we will be more reassuring of ourselves.”
So far, Umali and Tan are among the 12 members of the Philippine men’s and women’s teams that will fly this week to Palembang, Indonesia to compete in the 2018 Asian Games, under the tutelage of head coach Paeng Nepomuceno and his assistant Rivera.
After the Asian Games, Umali and Tan will join Jomar Jumapao, Raul Miranda, Kenneth Chua and Enzo Hernandez to compete in the World Men’s Championship in Hong Kong on Nov. 23 to Dec. 5.
Umali, prior to that, will join the youth team in the Asian School Championship in Taiwan on Sept. 30 to Oct. 9.Besides the World Youth bronze, the Philippine Bowling team under the program of the PBF also won the 53rd World Cup in Mexico under Krizziah Tabora last November and two silver medals in the last year’s Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games last September in Turkmenistan.
The bowlers for the Indonesia Asian Games bowling competition set on Aug. 22 to 27, are composed of Chua, Hernandez, Jumapao, Tan, Raoul Miranda and Umali in the men’s side, and Dyan Coronacion, Alexis Sy, Liza Del Rosario, Lourdes, Arles, Lara Posadas and Rachelle De Leon in the women’s.