KUWAIT CITY, Aug 2: Twelve weeks into the long and rigorous elimination round of the 2011 PBAK-BEC MoneyGram-SMDC Summer Tenpin Bowling Tournament being held at the Cozmo Bowling Center in Khaifan, the Top 8 teams hoping to earn an outright berth to the championship round kept their respective leader board positions even as most of the front runners came up with below par outputs. Among the teams in the elite 8, Whiplash, East-West, Klasmeyts Al Khadda Kana Controls and Air Safari ended up in the winner’s row with Team Asoka, Mega World, Xpress Rollers, D’ Islanders and the Swooping Eagles also emerging victorious from their respective matches.

In picking up the weekly team high series award, the property magnates of Mega World broke loose from a tightly contested match to beat defending champion Cozmo 2. In this match, Mega World took the initiative by taking the opening game 937-909. Through the five some of Fahad Abul, Noe Mahayag, Jhun Hosmillo, Ronnel Valencia and Aris de Guzman, Cozmo 2 grabbed a slim 2-game 1989-1984 lead after eking out a 980-947 victory in game two. With the outcome of the match still hanging in the balance, the two protagonists bowled toe to toe and traded strikes for most part of the deciding game. Headed by Mandy Manalo, Rudy de Lima, George Bouchebel, Jess de Vera and Myra Manalo, Mega World out lasted Cozmo 2 in a sizzling finish to curve out an impressive 1105-996 win in game three that brought the final tally of the match to 3015-2885 in favor of the real estate tycoons.

With five weeks left in the round, Team Asoka saw a glimmer of hope in their quest for a seat to finals after brushing aside Siete Pares with a superb 3021-2657 total pin falls victory. Sharing the scoring load in Team Asoka’s 979-877, 1026-893 and 991-887 three straight wins were Nelson D’ Souza, ,Rudolph Castellino, Lloyd Fernandes, Shirley Castellino and Collin Costa. Bowling for the vanquished Siete Pares squad in this match were Faie Reyel, JR Angeles, Nitz Alinea, Ramon Aguilar, Ramon Mesina, Rico Galang, Ritz Vidana and Dorcas Santos. Meanwhile, the Whiplash pin busters banked on a more consistent performance in subduing second ranked K2E2 3005-2822. In the opening game, the K2E2 Thunders headed by JR Sabado, Edwin Latoja, Dan Montano, Joan Balla and Butch Alinea matched the equally strong showing of their rivals and went on to post a convincing 1000-965 victory. After that high scoring game, both teams slowed down a bit. This change in pace gave Whiplash a chance to regroup and grabbed the opportunity to snatched the driver’s seat after a modest 935-873 decision in game two. Leading by three marks 1900-1873, Obet Cabrera, Rico Baluyot, Joel Tamayo, Michelle Avila and Mar Evangelista secured the outcome of the match for Whiplash with a 1081-950 shellacking of K2E2 in game three.

After their noteworthy week 11 feat, the Xpress Rollers romped home with another victory this one over the sound masters of BOSE whom they defeated 2988-2734. The match was off to an explosive start as both sides dished out strikes at will. With everyone in the Xpress Rollers’ side contributing to the scoring chores, the Rollers went on to win the high scoring game 1080-977. The next game where the Rollers prevailed once more 884-831 was rather uneventful. To complete a three to nothing sweep, Caloy Garay, Liza Catapia, Hermie Saliba, Joe Simmons, Tony Zuleta and Mars Balisi closed out their outing with a 999-926 victory in game three.

D’ Islanders on the other hand came back from a game one loss to beat LEAF 2863-2716. After Blanca Mercado, Peter Magdaherin, Lito Mercado, Rocky Castil and Rey Ualat gave LEAF a 931-883 win in game one, Rolly David, Fe Ferrer, Danny Doctor, Marilyne Mariano and Bert Pantanilla wasted no time and erased the deficit with their own 981-910 victory in game two. As LEAF’s performance continued to dip, D’ Islanders cruised to an easy 974-875 decision in the final game of the match. In the other completed matches, the Air Safari explorers clobbered Western Union-Al Muzaini Exchange 2819-2782, East-West brushed aside BEC-Nusanatara 2888-2653, the Swooping Eagles grounded World Class 2803-2794 and Klasmeyts-Al Khadda-Kana Controls dumped Cozmo-1 2876-2697.

The team standings after 12 weeks are as follows (read as rank, team name and average score per game) 1. World Class-979, 2. K2E2-976, 3. Cozmo -971, 4. Western Union/Al Muzaini 1-967, 5. Klasmeyts/Al Khada/Kana Controls, 6. Air Safari-966-964, 7. Whiplash -964, 8. East West -963, 9. Cozmo 2-954, 10. Xpress Rollers -950, 11. Siete Pares -947, 12. LEAF -946, 13. Megaworld/Will Do It-943, 14. Team Asoka-937, 15. Swooping Eagles-935, 16. D’ Islanders-934, 17. BOSE-928618. Nusantara-850.