Team manager Steven Riley has told his Bermuda team to hold their heads high after a memorable campaign in the International Bowling Federation World Cup in Hong Kong.

The island’s four-man contingent of Lamar Richardson, Dayvon Tucker, David Maycock and LeVinc Samuels saw their journey in the competition come to an end on Monday after being eliminated in the round of 16 of the Team Event after a 3-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia.

While the disappointment was evident in the immediate aftermath of their exit, Riley is adamant the foursome can look back on their endeavours with extreme pride.

“Obviously there is that immediate disappointment to be eliminated, but overall I am just extremely pleased with how these guys have performed,” said Riley after watching Bermuda initially level the best-of-five match only for Saudi Arabia to seal progression to the quarter-finals.

“When these guys look back they can’t be disappointed. To step up the way they have over the past week is a major achievement.

“This tournament has shown us that there are very fine margins between us and the very top teams in any given match. In terms of quality, that gap is very small.”

As well as heading home with a huge sense of satisfaction, Riley also believes the team made their mark on the wider sporting landscape.

“I believe we have opened a few eyes during this tournament,” added Riley on the back of Samuels also impressing in the singles event to reach the last 16.

“I’ve heard coaches warning others not to sleep on Bermuda and that in itself shows how we’ve performed. For the first time ever we have made it through to the last 16 of the team event and this has shown the level of bowlers that we have in Bermuda.

“Overall the tournament has been hugely encouraging for everybody and bigger things are definitely coming for this team moving forward.”

Reflecting on their exit, captain Richardson believes the side were to left rue the finest of margins after struggling to adapt to the changing feel of the lane from the previous day.

“The lanes broke down very definitely more than they have during the week,” he said. “It definitely came as a bit of a shock at the time and it meant we were having to try and adjust quickly, which is tricky in a knockout game.

“When you get out here against some of the best teams in the world you really can’t afford to miss even a spare because it can be the difference in losing any given game by a single pin.

“We seemed to really tidy that part of our game up yesterday in qualifying, but unfortunately we had some sloppy shots today and that proved to be our downfall.

“However, that shows how far we’ve come that we are disappointed to go out at this stage of a World Cup tournament. I’m definitely proud of the boys, because we all gave it our best for sure.”

Echoing the sentiments of his team manager, Richardson is adamant the future is bright.

“We know we can compete with the strongest of teams,” he added.

“For the four of us who competed here, it has been a major learning experience and we will only be better for it in future tournaments.

“We’ve seen throughout that we have missed out in matches by the smallest of margins and so we know what we need to close that very small gap to the bigger teams.

“Once the dust settles, we will all look back on this tournament with huge pride. I don’t think anyone really expects us to do well in these types of tournaments, but we know what we are capable of and we’ve more than proved it.”