DISPLAYING great stamina and endurance, Marc Custodio and Stephen Diwa played 20 straight games last Sunday (late Saturday in Europe) to reach the boys doubles semifinals of the International Bowling Federation Under-21 Bowling Championships in Helsingborg, Sweden.
After playing 10 games in the qualifying round, Custodio and Diwa combined for 2230 pinfalls to wind up in 15th place and make the 16-team cut in the group stage where they wound up in Group B with seven other squads led by host Sweden.
Under the Baker format of play, the Filipino keglers wound up tied with the Swede and Dutch, all posting 6-1 win-loss records after the single-round series that required all three squads to play three more games in deciding the top two finishers advancing to the semis.
Sweden topped the playoff with 256 pinfalls while the Philippines took the second spot with a score of 246, nosing out the Netherlands (236).
“Our boys played steady and are now at least assured of a bronze medal despite the limited time they had in training for the tournament,” said newly-elected Philippine Bowling Federation president Bong Coo, who watched the matches in the wee hours of Sunday via live streaming.
Coo said the semifinals and finals will be played on Wednesday (early Thursday morning in Manila), with Custodio and Diwa playing the South Korean pair, who topped Group A, in a best-of-3 semis.
The winner will play the victor between Sweden and Group B runner-up Malaysia in the finals, another best-of-3 affair.
Probably spent from their grueling play the previous day, Custodio and Diwa teamed up with Jordan Dinham and Danielle Evangelista early yesterday (Sunday night in Europe) but the quartet failed to make the cut. They finished in 19th place with a score of 2008 and missed qualifying for the 16-team group stage.
