Rico, Blanca brush aside rivals in style
44 participate in PBAK 2013 Kuwait liberation one-day bowling tourney Best of the Rest
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 27: At the just concluded PBAK 2013 Kuwait Liberation One-Day Tenpin Bowling Tournament held the Cozmo Bowling Center in Khaifan, long shot Rico Galang and seasoned lady pin buster Blanca Mercado emerged victorious in their respective group as they brushed aside their rivals in contrasting fashion. In clinching the Group 1 title unheralded Rico Galang dished out an impressive performance to upset his more fancied opponents while Blanca Mercado banked on her consistency in edging Fahmi Hussein for the Group 2 plum.
Organized by the Philippine Bowling Association in Kuwait to commemorate the liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation, the one-day event sponsored by Mr. Merhdad Tabibzadeh attracted a total of 44 participants. The Top 5 bowlers in each group based on their total score (scratch plus handicap) after six games were declared as winners. Going back to the 6-game series competition, first in Group 1, the 26 title contenders were Al Bautista, Cris Bulacja, Mohammad Khaled, Rico Baluyot, Tony Zuleta, Rod Llait, Al Belarmino, Lito Michaels, Nelson de Leon, Ronnel Valencia, Edwin Latoja, Noe Mahayag, Boy Lorino, Aldin Avila, Mousa Abdullah, Rommel Genciana, Merhdad Tabibzadeh, Kiko Andaya, Romy Fermil, Rico Galang, Bobby Ferrera, Joe White, Jess Tolentino, JR Sabado, Ed Mendoza and Mike Garcia.
After the opening 2-game block, Merhdad Tabibzadeh took the driver’s seat by carding 419 pin falls from his game scores of 221 and 198. The other early leaders at this stage were Kiko Andaya-415, Romy Fermil-405, Rico Galang-403, Bobby Ferrera-396, Joe White-383, Jess Tolentino-383 and JR Sabado-379. In game 3, Joe White who rolled a 234 took over the top spot with 617 pin falls followed by Rico Galang597, Jess Tolentino-589, Kiko Andaya585 and Rommel Genciana-579. Past the halfway mark in game 4, Joe White (806) held on the lead even as the charging Rico Galang (801) inched closer just 5 pins behind. Kiko Andaya also improved to third with 790 and completing the Top 5 with 2 games left were Rommel Genciana and Jess Tolentino with 770 and 758 respectively.
In the penultimate game, Joe White and Rico Galang shared the number one position with 986 pin falls apiece. Kiko Andaya on the other hand kept third place with 959 followed now by Nelson de Leon (939) and Merhdad Tabibzadeh (936). Going to the final game of the series, still in contention for the prizes at stake were Rommel Genciana-925, Jess Tolentino-623, Bobby Ferrera-911, Mike Garcia-911 and JR Sabado-904. In the mad dash to the wire, Rico Galang completed his uphill climb to the top of the leader board by closing out with 212 and a title winning 6-game series tally of 1204 pin falls. A big 235 in game 6 handed Rommel Genciana (1166) the 1st runner up position and completing the Top 5 were Joe White-1164, Kiko Andaya-1152 and Merhdad Tabibzadeh1136.
Going to the Group 2 side of the event, the 18 keglers who signed up were Dariel Cartas, Alex Cervantes, Michelle Avila, Fe Ferrer, Rudy de Lima, Mohammad Othman, Iman Nitikusumo, Nasha King, Blanca Mercado, Fahmi Hussein, Sonia Mathews, Elvie Sotio, Chit Mariano, Jane Nance, Hermie Saliba, Mina Andaya, Ritz Vidaya and Liza Catapia. Diminutive Fahmi Hussein (389) was off to a good start as he grabbed the lead after rolling a 176 and 189 in the first two games. Chasing the front runner was a bunch of lady pin busters headed by Jane Nance-379, Nasha King-366, Mina Andaya 341 and Chit Mariano-337. Midway the 6-game series, Sonia Mathews who booked 219 in game 3 forged in front with 564 pin falls to her credit. Jane kept second place with 546 followed closely by Blanca Mercado544, Fahmi Hussein-539 and Mina Andaya-527.
Game 4 saw another bowler taking over the pace setting chores as Blanca Mercado posted a second consecutive 200 game lifting her 4-game total to 750 pin falls. Fahmi Hussein (740) moved up to second at this stage while slipping down to third was Sonia Mathews with 739. The next two slots remained a tossup between Jane Nance-705, Nasha King-687, Mina Andaya-684, Chit Mariano-678, Hermie Saliba-668, Liza Catapia-658, Ritz Vidana-658 and Elvie Sotio-646. In the pivotal game 5, Fahmi Hussein had his turn at the top of standings as he overtook erstwhile leader Blanca Mercado 950-947 going to the deciding game 6. Still in contention at this crucial point of the competition were Sonia Mathews-907, Hermie Saliba-842, Mina Andaya-837, Jane Nance-828, Liza Catapia-822, Elvie Sotio-822 and Chit Mariano-819. In hotly contested sixth game, Blanca Mercado outscored her rival Fahmi Hussein 162-151 to win the title. The final Group 2 Top 5 rankings are as follows Blanca Mercado-1115, Fahmi Hussein-1113, Sonia Mathews-1107, Elvie Sotio-1043 and Chit Mariano1025. Liu, Kong in charge: China has put the grand slam winning duo of Liu Guoliang and Kong Linghui in charge of maintaining the country’s formidable dominance in world table tennis, local media said on Wednesday.
Liu, who won both the singles and doubles gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, had been appointed China’s general head coach while retaining the same position with the men’s team, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Kong, who partnered Liu in Atlanta and won the singles gold in Sydney four years later, would be in charge of the women’s team, it added.
“My predecessor Shi Zhihao did an extraordinary job,” Kong was quoted as saying by the report.
“Under Shi’s reign, the Chinese women’s team pocketed all gold medals on offer in two Olympic Games, which set the bar high for me.
“... we are not just eyeing to win more gold medals, but going to make table tennis a more popular sport in China and elsewhere of the world.” said Kong. Liu had no illusions about the challenges ahead but was confident of taking Chinese table tennis to a new high. (RTRS) Snooker rivalry: Pakistan snooker authorities Wednesday got clearance from the government to revive fixtures against arch-rivals India after a gap of eight years, with a series planned for next month.
The neighbours have not played a snooker series since 2005, when India visited. All sporting ties were frozen after the deadly attacks on Mumbai in 2008 which were blamed on Pakistanbased militants.
Cricketing ties were revived after a gap of five years when Pakistan toured India in December-January for a short limited-overs series.
Pakistan Snooker and Billiards Association president Alamgeer Shaikh said he met Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who gave his approval for India to tour. (AFP)
title: Argentina’s Juan Carlos Reveco achieved a unanimous points decision over Japan’s Masayuki Kuroda to defend his World Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight title on Wednesday.
Two judges scored it 117-111, while the other judge counted it 116-112 in favour of the defending champion.
It was Reveco’s third defence of the title since he defeated Jean Piero Perez of Venezuela by a knockout to become the interim champion in June 2011.
The 29-year-old Reveco, who became the full champion after his second defence, improved his record to 30 wins, including 16 KOs, against one defeat.
It was the first attempt at a world title for Kuroda, ranked ninth in the WBA, who saw his record reduced to 21 wins, including 13 KOs, against four defeats and two draws. (AFP)