NLB, Siete Pares 1 continue to set pace – IBL Team 2 back in Top 6 with win over Strikers X

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KUWAIT CITY, Nov 8: As the elimination stage of the on-going 2017 Season 11 FTBK Tenpin Bowling Team Tournament approach the home turn, the battle for a place in the double round robin championship round among 13-team continue to heat up going to the last week of the qualifying round.

And even as long time tournament front runner NLB Corporation who are already assured of a finals berth remained unmoved from the top of the leader board, second and third placed Siete Pares 1 and 2 both clinched their respective seats in the double round robin championship round after booking superb wins over separate opponents over the weekend.

Overpowering their penultimate week qualifying rivals in this tenpin bowling competition organized by the Filipino Tenpin Bowlers Kuwait (FTBK) and held every Friday at the 16-lane Cozmo Bowling Center in Salmiya were the IBL Team 2, Siete Pares 1, K2E2 Thunders, Dyn Aviation, Cozmo Salmiya and NLB Corporation.

And with just a week left to bowl, the three remaining slot in the Top 6 will be hotly contested by Rock N Bowl, D’ Islanders and IBL Team 2 who are at the moment inside the elite 6 and the other teams who will be trying to bump any of this three teams out are Dyn Aviation, DMDA Bowleros, IBL team 1 and Cozmo Salmiya.

Looking at the results of the pivotal week 25 matches, longshot IBL Team 2 who was booted out in week 24 after a long 23-week stay in the Top 6 bounced back with vengeance in the penultimate week as they struck out Strikers X in four straight games en-route to a superb 3,341-2,921 total pin falls victory.

Derailed by their dismal week 24 showing where they bowed to NLB in a low scoring match, IBL Team 2 returned for their match against Strikers X like a wounded tiger devouring everything in their path.

Right at the opening game of the match, IBL Team 2 showed that they are in tip top shape for this stint by routing their opponents 825-698. Cruising like a well oiled machine, the spicy IBL Team 2 keglers once again trounced Strikers X in the next two games 828-700 and 800-768.

Now ahead by an insurmountable 31 marks, IBL Team 2 completed a remarkable victory by closing out with a tenacious 863-755 in game four. Top bowlers for IBL Team 2 in this noteworthy worthy performance were Abdullah Al Ali, Rani Skeik, Nadine Dias, Nikshita Shetty and Basma Ammar.

Meanwhile, sister teams Siete Pares 1 and Siete Pares 2 who are both looking forward to bowl against each other in the upcoming finals had a preview of that anticipated match up as they squared off in lanes 13 and 14.

Taking advantage of the slow start of their more fancied stable mate, Siete Pares 2 spearheaded by foursome of Mario Santos, Alex Nodalo, Siddharth Nair and Dorcas Sansone blew away the opposition in the first two games of the match 790-692 and 904-797 to take a 2-game lead of 1,694-1,492.

Down by a whooping 20 marks, Siete Pares 1 crawled back into the match with an 806-755 win in game three. Still down by 15 marks and with Jojit Dador, Faie Reyel, Egay Cabildo and Rami Al Mudhaf in the lineup, Siete Pares 1 slowly chopped away the lead of Siete Pares 2 with a barrage of strikes and succeeded in snatching the outcome of the match 3224-3188 through their sterling 904-739 victory in the final game.

Dyn Aviation on the other hand remained to be a strong contender for a finals berth after brushing aside another championship round hopeful D’ Islanders 3,112-3,051. Led by Aga Cuadrazal, Vernie Villaruel and Janet Shaikh D’ Islanders took the early lead by grounding Dyn Aviation in game one 843-734 . In the next game it was Dyn Aviation’s turned the tables on their tormentors 768-682. Up by only 2 marks, D’ Islanders stretched their advantage to 5 marks after eking out a close 815-784 win in game three.

In the final game of the match, Dyn Aviation led by Sam Snipes, Jowie Concepcion, Jr Sabado and Rolly David regrouped just in time to beat D’ Islanders 803-711. In the other matches of the week, The K2E2 Thunders towed by Lee Mills, Edwin Latoja, Butch Alinea and Jess Farne, defeated the DMDA Bowleros 3,180-3,012; Cozmo Salmiya headed by Ronnel Valencia, Bader Malallah, Cris Batucan and Arnold Mendoza clobbered Rock N Bowl 3,100-2,969 and NLB Corporation with Rudy Zablan, Ric Marimla, Philip Marimla, Nelson De Leon and Chris Bulacja trounced IBL Team 1 3002-2,849. World Class who drew the bye schedule rolled a total score of 3,049 pin falls.

Team High scores the current record holders are as follows: Individual High Game Men Class O/A-Ronnel Valencia 285, Men Class B-Siddharth Nair 255, Ladies- JanetShaikh 245; High Average Men Class O/A- Ronnel Valencia 190 Men Class B-Butch Alinea 177, Ladies-Janet Shaikh 174; Team High Game-CozmoSalmiya 868 and Team High Series-NLB Corporation 3,340.

The team standings after the penultimate 25 weeks are as follows (read as rank, team name and total score); 1. NLB Corporation-77,299, 2. Siete Pares 1-77,203 3. Rock N Bowl-76,680, 4.Siete Pares 2-76,703, 5. D’ Islanders-76,679, 6. IBL Team 2-76,678, 7. Dyn Aviation -76,513, 8.DMDA Bowleros-76,339, 9. IBL Team 1-76,291, 10. CozmoSalmiya-76,185, 11. Strikers X-76,071, 12. K2E2 Thunders76,029, 13. World Class-75,591.

By Miguel Carlos – Special to the Arab Times

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