RIYADH, 14 March 2003 — The prolific Edwin Avelino of the Filbowler Delegation edged the defending 2002 Haj Masters champion, Arcie Consolacion of Riyadh in a nail-biting match to clinch the coveted Masters crown in the just concluded 2003 Annual Haj Goodwill Games All Filipino Kingdomwide Bowling Tournament held at the Riyadh Inter-Continental Hotel Bowling hosted and organized by the Overseas Filipino Workers Bowlers of Riyadh (OFWBR) in cooperation with the R-500 Bowlers and the Riyadh Inter-Continental Hotel.
Avelino entered the top five finishers in the crucial last game wherein Riyadh’s best bowlers Consolacion, Rico Feria, Pep Maghinay and Jomari de Luna are fighting for the number position during the Masters competition. Avelino’s high game of 247 in Game 5 helped him to widen his lead by two marks over the fighting Consolacion. Avelino shot a series of 1182 points to clobber the top spot while Consolacion with 1161 secured the second position. Feria and Maghinay settled for third and fourth positions while the number five position was taken by the longshot entry of Jomari de Luna.
In the first stepladder match between finisher number 5, De Luna and finisher number 4, Maghinay, saw the highly spirited Jomari easily defeated Maghinay with a score of 196-181 in favor of Jomari. With the moral and support extended to Jomari by his colleagues, he continued to impress the crowds but due to the pressure of the game, the inexperienced Jomari lost his momentum against the might Rico Feria who won the match with a score of 182-162. Jomari settled for fourth place while Maghinay landed in fifth place. Feria’s next opponent was ace Arcie Consolacion. Both players played good and the spectators witnessed as both players displayed separate sterling performances. The experienced Consolacion taking advantage of Feria’s split in frame 9 managed to convert a strike then followed by spare and strike in the remaining frames to beat fellow Feria by merely four pins (183-179).
The climax of the games is the duel between the top finisher Edwin Avelino and challenger Arcie Consolacion. Avelino armed with a twice-to-beat advantage over Consolacion had the chance of winning the crown in the first match but failed to spare the single pin in frame 10 which resulted a rematch in the second game. Avelino scored 172 while Consolacion had 177 to win the first match. In the final match, Avelino bounced back with fiery performance to beat this time the defending champion Consolacion with a score of 180-166 to crown himself as the 2003 haj masters champion. For his feat, Avelino won a revenue Cathay Pacific Airways round trip air ticket (Dhahran-Manila-Dhahran) sponsored by the Al-Sarh International Travel Agency plus a cash prize of SR1,000 and the elegant master’s trophy and gift donated by Grohe. Consolacion, likewise received a 29” colour television set sponsored by Mohamad Mufhari Al-Bakor Est. solicited by Benny Mondoy and a cash prize of SR500 and a trophy. The remaining runners-up received attractive electronic items. Moreover, Avelino added another feather in his cap by bagging the high game award by rolling an impressive 247.
The Perpetual Trophy (Overall Champion) was won by the Riyadh Delegation and coming in second was the Filbowler followed by FTBJ/BBG. The Filbowler Delegation was unanimously voted as the “Huwaran at Pagkakaisa” awardee while Atoy Pondales was named the 2003 Haj Paro-Paro Awardee and the 2003 Maginoo Award went Ermil delos Reyes of the FTBJ/BBG Delegation. The awardees received trophies and gift items during the glittering awards night.
