Biboy Rivera, 28, had a clear shot at the gold in the men’s singles down to the last frame, needing a strike and a spare, but the ball hit his ankle on release and rolled to the gutter as his team watched in disbelief.
A day after the incident, Rivera, currently ranked fifth in Asia, appeared to have picked up the pieces and was gearing for the men’s doubles with partner Chester King.
"I’m very disappointed but then I have to regroup and focus on the four medal events and help my team," said the bespectacled Rivera, a businessman involved in construction and travel.
In a superb display of bowling, Rivera racked up a high series of 258-213-228-226-238 and was a frontrunner for the medals until that mishap and he finished with 204-1367 for fourth. Singapore’s Remy Ong won the gold (1389) and Al Hassan Shaker Ali of UAE and Yannaphon Larpapharat shared the silver at 1372.
During the last Asian team championship in Hong Kong, against practically the same field here, Rivera recalled hitting five strikes in a row as he rallied his tandem with King to win the gold.
His composure at crunch time has prompted head coach Johnson Cheng to make Rivera the anchor of the team, the man last to bowl.
"We decided that I should be the anchorman because they know that under pressure I could deliver," said Rivera, a former Asian Youth champion and gold medallist in the team of five in the SEA Games Kuala Lumpur.
Ruing the chance he missed in giving the nation its first gold or silver, Rivera said his foot might have come out on the slide and the ball hit it, fumbling his bid to medal.
"I’m very disappointed dahil kaya ko, ang tagal kong pinaghirapan ang six games. It was the first time this happened to me in competition and of all times, dito pa," he said.
"It’s a freak accident. He fought very well, played very well and for the whole night he was steady. He will bounce back," said Cheng.
Philippine Sports Commission chair Eric Buhain praised Rivera’s sterling game until the last frame mishap. "He gave it his best shot, for two and a half hours he was among the best. I am an athlete myself once and I know things like this will strengthen your resolve to continue. He will come back," he said.
Meanwhile, the team of Liza del Rosario and Liza Clutario could only finish 10th in the women’s doubles at the Homeplus Lanes.
Clutario, who captured the bronze medal in the women’s singles day earlier, just couldn’t get going and the RP pair could only amass 2,429. The duo of Irene Benitez and Ces Yap was 15th overall (2378) and Kathlynn Lopez and Josephine Canare 21st at 2156.
Seeing action at press time are the teams of Paeng Nepomuceno, RJ Bautista, King and Rivera, CJ Suarez- Botchok Rey, in the men’s side of the event. – Lito Tacujan