Khalid, Felesmina Masters champs in 1st OFBC Independence Cup

Khalid Bustinera and Jana Felesmina earned bragging rights as the 1st OFBC Independence Cup champions after winning the centerpiece men’s and ladies Masters event titles during the FIQ-style tournament held last Friday at the Ice Land Bowling Center on Prince Sultan Road here.
The one-day tournament featuring five events used the eight games sudden death format. For the five-man team event members composition were based on the drawn lane assignments regardless of classification.
Bustinera won the Masters by 16 pins from Allan C. Salamanes with an eight-game series with handicap of 1,555 pinfalls. Salamanes rolled 1,535 pinfalls to finish first runner-up with Conrad Baltazar second runner-up on 1,508 pinfalls.
The day truly belonged to Bustinera whose breakout performance also gave him the trio event crown with wife Fedelyn and Evelyn Santoc. It could have been a memorable treble for Khalid as he also topped the men’s singles but had to give way to Salamanes under a rule where the Masters shall be given preference in the event that a bowler won both the singles and Masters.
Felesmina won the ladies Masters with plenty to spare, carding 1,586 pinfalls to 1,527 by Shirley Sagmit. Carms Lim compiled 1,523 in third place.
But Lim also took home a Samsung Grand Duos 3G smartphone like the two Masters champions and men’s singles champion Salamanes when her score for the first six games gave her the ladies singles crown on 1,160.
Minda Guevarra matched Lim’s score but had to settle for the first runner-up prize after the tiebreaker was applied. Aisah Silabay was second runner-up on 1,149.
The men’s singles results had Khalid on 1,192, Salamanes on 1,180 and Robert De Guzman on 1,168.
The four units of Samsung Grand Duos were sponsored by Abdul Hameed of Al Tayyer United Contracting Co. who awarded these units to the winners along with their cash prizes and trophies during the prize distribution ceremony at the end of the competition.
The trio of Santoc and Bustinera couple put together a winning tally of 1,751 from games 2, 3 and 4, well in front of first runner-up Guevarra, Len-Len Berina and Cesar Pagtalunan who scored 1,704. Ed Cordova, De Guzman and Jun Ejanda were second runner-up on 1,649.
The doubles crown went to Steve Historillo-Tirso Bambalan who mustered 1,145 pinfalls from games 1, 2 and 3. Fatima Jintarat and Felesmina took the first runner-up prize on 1,127 and Carms Lim and Vic Gonzales the second runner-up prize on 1,103.
The champion team to emerge after scores in games 3, 4, 5 and 6 were tabulated was the quintet of Edna Brusette, Guevarra, Berina, Elo Manalo and Pagtalunan. Jintarat and Felesmina teamed with the winning trio combination for the first runner-up plum on 3,478 while the fivesome of Historillo, Bambalan, Ed Cordova, De Guzman and Ejanda rounded out the winners on 3,449.
Also, the organizing Overseas Filipino Bowlers Club Western Region thanked the following for helping make the event a big success: Petromin Guil Express through Jerry “Ka Imo” Carredo, which provided three-bagger prize of Petromin mugs, hand towels and pens, OFBC Sports Chairman Rudy “RJ” Jamon, Makati Foods and participants.