Norel Nuevo, Grace Gella win bronze medals in World Junior Bowling

Norel Nuevo and Grace Gella show off their medals. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Norel Nuevo and Grace Gella showed a glimpse of the future in Philippine bowling when they brought home a pair of bronze medals from the 2019 World Junior Bowling Championships in Saint-Maximin, France.

Nuevo came close to booking a spot in the finals only to be sidetracked by South Korea’s Soree Hung in the semifinals of the girls’ masters event.

Gella duplicated Nuevo’s feat after compiling an average of 229 in six games for the bronze that she shared with Peppi Konsteri of Finaland who averaged 231.17.

“It’s another proud moment for Philippine bowling on the world stage, said PBF secretary general Bong Coo.

“They performed well, but it wasn’t enough to win it all. Just the same, all of us are happy with their achievement,” added Coo, a four-time world bowling champion and most decorated Filipino athlete during her stint in the national team.

It was a promising start for the 18-year-old after she defeated Hung, 235-223, in the opening frame of the three-game semis, but allowed the Korean to seize the next two games.

Nuevo averaged 215.33 in three games while Hung tallied an average of 229.66 after rolling 244 and 222 in the last two frames.

Next stop for Gella and Nuevo is the Asian Youth Championships on April 17-25 in Kuching, Malaysia.

Singapore’s Arianne Tay ruled the field after averaging 234.5 in six games while Finland’s Mila Nevalainen got the silver (231.5).