Rivera settles for bronze in World Cup

TOULON, France – Former World Masters champion Biboy Rivera fell short of his World Cup bid as he lost to eventual winner Michael Schmidt of Canada in the first playoff match Saturday and settled for the bronze medal in the 46th QubicaAMF World Cup competition at Bowling de Provence here.

Rivera’s dream of winning his first-ever World Cup crumbled after he was swept by Schmidt in two games – 215-247 and 202-252.

Schmidt went on to topple top seeded Matt Miller of England, 2-1 (205-246, 212-207, 224-188) in the finals to capture his second World Cup five years after he triumphed in Slovenia.

Aumi Guerra gave Dominican Republic its first World Cup title by turning back No. 1 seed Gye Min-Young of Korea, 2-1 (203-226, 202-196, 240-196) in the women’s finals.

Guerra earned a shot at the Korean by ousting England’s Fiona Banks, 2-0 (237-223, 246-188) in the first stepladder match.

The match between Rivera and Schmidt was close in the first game with both players going for a potential 247. But Rivera, working for a double in the ninth, left the 3-6 pins standing to give the Canadian the edge.

Rivera actually got the first strike, but he left the 3-6-10 combination on his second shot to open the door for Schmidt to move ahead, 1-0.

Rivera, who needed to win the second game to force a decider, had a disastrous start in three of the first four frames. On the other hand, Schmidt was perfect through the first seven frames before a 4-6-7 split denied his bid for the first perfect game of this year’s World Cup competition.

Schmidt failed to convert the split but though Rivera threw four strikes in frames 5-8, game and match were over when the Filipino left a 2-pin standing on his first ball in the ninth frame.