ALTHOUGH short on international exposure, an eight-man national bowling squad left last night hoping to pull off surprises in the International Bowling Federation World Cup opening tomorrow at the Suncity Tenpin Bowl on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.
Anchoring the Pinoy bowlers are Vietnam Southeast Asian Games double gold medalist Merwin Tan and 2017 World Cup women’s champion Krizziah Tabora-Macatula, according to former Philippine Bowling Federation president Bong Coo, now a commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission.
“While our bowlers may be short of international exposure, they have trained very hard, have a big heart and — who knows? — may spring surprises in the IBF World Cup,” said Coo, recalling the bronze medal finishes of the national men’s and women’s teams at the world championships last year in Dubai.
Also on the men’s squad are Jordan Dinham, Emerson Gotencio and Kenneth Chua, a member of the team that took the bronze in the world meet, while the other members of the ladies team are veteran Lara Posadas-Wong, Rachelle Leon and Mades Arles.
National men’s coach Biboy Rivera, who bagged the National Open masters title last week, said they simulated the playing conditions they anticipate in the IBF World Cup to offset their lack of international competition.
“Siyempre, iba pa rin ‘yung may international exposure ang mga players natin. But we will just pray and do our best,” said Rivera, a gold medalist in the men’s masters 2006 world championships in Busan, South Korea and men’s singles champion in the 2008 Guangzhou Asian Games.
Rivera, who will call the shots together with women’s coach Jojo Canare, declined to give any predictions, considering the bowlers are up against elite competition.
Starting tomorrow are the singles preliminaries in the men’s and women’s divisions of the tournament that has drawn over 750 entries from nearly 50 countries worldwide, including powerhouse squads from the US, South Korea, host Australia and those from Europe.
