RIYADH, 30 November — Bowler of the Week Dick Montano posted a record 851 series and led the Hunks to a sensational 421 points output in the 8th week of the Marhaba Phone Card Bowlfest being played at the FAL Bowling Center every Saturday.
Montano was joined by Jose Mari de Luna, Gil Santos, Joel Alegre and team Captain Rod Basilio as they hacked out a dazzling 4-0 win over the powerhouse but now struggling Alley Bang Bang of Rolly Manalang who can’t seem to shrug off their recent woes at the FAL bowling lanes. It was in this same venue where ABB won a prestigious trophy among 20 teams sometime September last.
With that superb win, the chips fell into place for the Hunks who were only at No. 5 prior to this week. First, Montano ran away with the BOW award and set a new record in the individual handicapped series at 851. This was matched by the Hunks in the team handicapped series record at 3858.
But foremost, the jubilant Hunks satisfied their craving for excellence as they snatched the top post from the Mavericks who fell to No. 3.
Meanwhile, McDonald of Toffee San Jose retained the 2nd spot with a decisive 3-1 win worth 240 points over upcoming Tsamba Konnection of John Harris.
Seasoned veteran Rizal Dellosa, talented Norman Espejo and stalwart Dick Segovia led McDonald’s attack with Dellosa scoring 764 in 4 games. Espejo contributed 762 and Segovia had 675 also in 4 games.
McDonald’s support crew were Toffee San Jose, Es Sesperes, Rollie Cleofe, and Carlo Gaspar who helped put the team in a strong position for the title at No. 2.
In another remarkable 3-1 win, Saudi Oger of Nestor Mauyao whipped one-time TOW awardees MIB of Beltran Atoy. Netting 180 points (150+30), Saudi Oger inched higher to No. 8 from No. 10 through the combined games of Sonny Legaspi, Manny Tuzon, Vher de Castro, Joseph dela Pena, Nestor Mauyao, Ramir Santor and Mario Reyes.
Unicorn likewise sneaked to No. 6 (from No. 7) after drilling 3541 pinfalls and 230 points over defaulting Shakba. The leading scorers were Class O bowler Jhing Sahagun (766), the consistent Rene Dimapilis (707) & Efren Abuyo (684).
Team of the Week awardee, the Hunks soared high with a 1051 handicapped series in Game 3 which was yet another new record for them. Coming from Santos (222), de Luna (202), Montano (186), Alegre (173) and Basilio (168), that game hauled down a single game bonus of 131 points out of their total bonus points of 221.
And as if to authenticate their dominance over ABB, the Hunk’s 1051 easily dwarfed ABB’s best game of 928 in their game 3 encounter, before the shutout was sealed with a 923-840 in Game 4.
Compared to Hunk’s 421 points (200+221), ABB got only 60 (bonus) points from the match after failing to deliver their notorious game 4 punch.
The Hunks easily beat ABB with 948-852 in game 1 from Montano’s 199 and Alegre’s 185 when JR Bagon’s 201 was not even enough for ABB. They had ABB undersiege after scoring a close 936-927 in game 2 which paved the way for the shutout.
The Hunk’s massive 110-55 handicap edge was a big help in that game where Mari de Luna scored 192, Montano had 173 and Alegre 157.
De Luna’s 4-game 802 was next to Montano’ 851 in the Hunk’s scoring followed by Santos (777), Alegre (766) and captain Basilio (672).
ABB’s Dante Prado and JR Bagon displayed their usual sharp reflexes with Bagon topscoring for 808. Bagon, who now leads the Top 50 bowlers, had highs of 201 & 214 in his 4 games. Together with Edwin Quano, captain Rolly Manalang and Richard Oczon, ABB had a good series of 852, 927, 928 & 840 but unfortunately had no chance against the rampaging Hunks in that first Ramadan week in the ongoing bowlfest.
