Cruz, Miralbuna August champs in FEDBG tourney

Tito Cruz and Aileen Miralbuna outscored their rivals with their two sterling games to win the four-bowler race with handicap finals and emerge as the men’s and ladies champion in the Filipino Expatriate Damayan Bowling Group monthly tournament for August at the Bowling City here.
It was actually a rocky road to the title for Cruz, as he was still in seventh position till the third game with Joey Calapatia showing the way to Rolly Vistal, Ferdie Coloma, Edward Botardo, Jimmy Aragones and Fred Cuenca after the 4-game elimination.
But Cruz seared the lanes with 234 in the fourth game to hurdle the barriers toward becoming the top-seed class finalist with 4-game series of 761.
Calapatia, second at 745, survived Vistal, Jun Pingan, Botardo and Sol Cuenca with his playoff blitz of 95. But a couple 170 luckily made Cruz Class C champion when Calapatia could only make 319.
From there, Cruz went for the overall championship with group OA winner Joel Nidoy the top favorite along with Arnel Dicap and Edris Mangoda who survived Classes B and D.
Nidoy, Digap and Edris Mangonda outlasted Rudy Valenzuela (396-359), Dariel Loquias (354-350) and Jun de Dios who lost via rule of consistency (5-31) on 349 deadlock.
Unfazed by Nidoy’s perfect-game records, Cruz bowled at his usual pace to fire 224 and 218 for a championship total of 442 leaving Digap second at 402, while Nidoy and Mangonda finished third and fourth at 367 and 366.
On the ladies division, Fuly Primo and Christine Esperancilla advanced as outright finalists when they topped their group at 736 and 750 in AB and CD, respectively. Then in the 1-game sudden death playoff, Malou Nidoy beat Sally Sañosa (176), Alona Antinero (169) and Aisah Silabay (186) with her 215. Miralbuna narrowly beat Shirley Sagmit (168-162), as Maricar Victorino and Andrei Parena returned 149 and 137.
During the 4-bowler 2-game Miralbuna opened with 217 with Nidoy on 191. Esperancilla and Primo had 175 and 144.
Aware of Nidoy’s capacity to explode, Miralbuna took care of her sparing maintaining her two marks advantage en route to the August championship at 417. Nidoy settled for second place at 358 while Esperancilla and Primo took third and fourth respectively.