JEDDAH, 27 June 2003 — The multiawarded and the three-time 300 perfect holder, ace Hashim Guinomla added another laurel in his bowling career when he ruled the just concluded FTBJ Philippine Independence Cup ‘03 at the Bowling World Center located along the Corniche Road.
Guinomla, a Class O bowler, is the son of Ambassador Bahnarim Guinomla, a former bowler turned golfer and the Philippine envoy in the Kingdom and he finished fifth after the elimination round by carding 1,353 series scratch in seven games with an average of 193.
Class C bowler, Chris Baetz topped the elimination round by posting a series handicap of 1,407 and had a series scratch of 1,295. Placing second was Goying Salazar, a Class O player with a series scratch of 104 while Class A Rudy Valenzuela and Toto Lim, classified as Class A player settled for third and fourth spots in the elimination round. Valenzuela and Lim scored a separate series of 1,401 and 1,362.
In the semifinal round, the scientific Guinomla displayed his deadly form to grab the top spot by carding a four game series scratch of 846, averaging 212. Danny de Guzman surprised the spectators by grabbing the second position with a series of 812 while Rudy Valenzuela and Edwin Ronquillo hold the third and fourth positions, respectively. Valenzuela and the fastrising Ronquillo tallied a separate four game series of 794 and 793. Completing the top five finishers after the semi was Andy Erena who garnered a series of 785.
In the first stepladder match, the grueling match between Erena, Ronquillo and Valenzuela, Erena won the match by scoring 204 to face the second finisher Danny de Guzman. Ronquillo scored 195 to secure the fourth position while Valenzuela had 146 to land in fifth place. Erena’s victory over De Guzman lifted him to the spot of challenging the top finisher, Hashim Guinomla, in the final. At the start, Erena and Guinomla matched each other by converting a series of strikes and spare but in the penultimate game, the experienced Guinomla did not give Erena a chance to bounce back in the remaining frames as Guinomla fired a four bagger strikes to score 193, a score that beat Erena to win the coveted title.Remaining semifinalists: Joey Salvador, Mao Orolfo, Toto Lim, Emil Payongayong, Rene Santiago, Nanding Siasoco, Edu Toledo, Jess Pineda, Mar Cabrera, Chris Baetz.
