Yes, very lucky.
Tonight cleaned the holes and bolts for the "splash shield" and installed it. Noticed that a small piece was missing. Upon closer inspection it was clear that this happened when the valves bent 3 years ago. There was faint discoloration of the block where the piece was missing. When the timing chain skipped because of the tensioner pad material got cought in it, it pushed down on this piece and cracked a chunk out. I'm leaving as is. Used Permatex blue thread locker to install the bolts. The bolts and the block holes were completly clean and dry.