JEDDAH: Ekis Reload put the proverbial icing on the victory cake by winning the championship match against challenger Sagmit Dental Clinic on the 21st and final week in the FTBJ-ICBL 36th Conference bowling tournament at the Bowling City here.
The waiting No. 1 finalist Ekis, jointly managed by Ernie Geslani and Eugene Delfin, lost its twice-to-beat privilege but then got the job done to complete a dominating run in this five-man team Friday league event it entered for the first time.
The day started with the first stepladder final match featuring Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7 teams namely Saudia Ice Cream, Cristal Rock n Roll, Sadafco, D’ Barkads in two-game knockout with handicap.
D’Barkads won on 2, 076 pinfalls to Saudia Ice Cream’s 2, 072, Sadafco’s 2, 005 and Cristal’s 1, 844. D’Barkads carded a pair of 991s with the trio of Cheryl Tibay, Gerry Tano and Thess Gandia shooting 213, 206 and 204 in the second game while Rally zamora tallied 189 and Leo Edejer 179.
The hoped for momentum did not come for D’ Barkads as they went down in defeat to No. 3 Sagmit 1, 042 to 944 pinfalls in their next match, their bid hurt by the low 167 and 166 and Cheryl and Edejer. In contrast, Sagmit got a big lift form 214, 213 and 201 by Med Ramos, Philip Raymundo and Evelyn Santoc.
Sagmit Dental Clinic then earned a shot at Ekis by winning the third match of the stepladder final opposite No. 2 seed Pinslashers 1,009-905 pinfalls.
The one to bowl a big game for Sagmit in this match was Ding dela Rosa with Raymundo on 195, Evelyn 185, and Shirley Sagmit and Ramos both on 172s.
Pinslashers had Rommel Cagapang on 117 but were weighed down by the 135 and 133 by Rommel Agbayani and 165 by Roger Daquioag. May Lourdes managed to avoid the bleeding on 180.
By winning two matches Sagmit was at the halfway point of realizing a championship crown against the top seed.
In the championship match, things became interesting after SDC won a game against Ekis 1, 012-953 thanks mainly to Dela Rosa 224 and Ramos 189.
To its credit Ekis delivered in the clutch, winning the no-tomorrow game 954-913.
Zaldy Bacero stepped up with 233 to improve on his first game 195, as did Malu Gime who rolled 191 to recover from a forgettable 160. Emil Payongayong had 173. George Mangaliman’s 157 and Alma Bacero’s 142 rounded out Ekis’ second game scoring. Faisal Relativo and Fadi Al Haddad are the other members of the Ekis team.
While Ekis looked to peak at the right time SDC suffered a meltdown with the reliable Raymundo hitting rock bottom on 130. Ramos’ 207 and Dela Rosa’s 184 were the only saving grace as it were with Shirly on 163 and Evelyn on 159.
Meantime, the 37th Conference rolls off Friday with defending champion Ekis Reload leading a 14-team field that will fight it out in a shortened 11 weeks format.
Final team standings
Champion Ekis Reload, runner-up Sagmit Dental Clinic, 3rd place Pinslashers, 4th place D’ Barkads, 5th place Saudia Ice Cream, 6th place Sadafco, 7th place, Cristal Rock n Roll, 8th place Hidada Ltd., 9th place Zeikisha, 10th place JP Gilas 2, 11th place Patsamba, 12th place Sky Freight-OSN, 13th place UDH-Fire Bowlers
Ekis Reload clinches title in FTBJ-ICBL 36th Conference bowling tournament
Ekis Reload clinches title in FTBJ-ICBL 36th Conference bowling tournament
