両者連続ストライクスタートでTVパーフェクト期待も、ともに5フレスペア。そして7フレコンディションの変わり目で斉藤が6本カウント（3.6.9.10）をミス。その後9フレもスプリットミスでマイク・ウルフが逃げ切り準決勝へ。

After 22 years of American domination in the Dydo Japan Cup, this year's finals will have a decidedly international flavor.

Five Japanese bowlers, one Korean, one Finn and one American bowler make up the eight finalists for the Dydo Japan Cup 2007, the first event of the 2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour. All nine of last year's finalists were American PBA stars.

Denny's PBA Tour stars Mika Koivuniemi (Hartland, Mich.) and Mike Wolfe (New Albany, Ind.) join five members of the Japan Professional Bowling Association (JPBA) and one member of the Korean Professional Bowling Association (KPBA) for Sunday's finals at the Tokyo Metro Gymnasium which will award a $50,000 top prize.

Japanese players won two of the first four Japan Cups in 1985 and '88, with Venezuelan PBA star Amleto Monacelli winning the 1987 event. Since then, American PBA stars have won 22 consecutive times in the event, which annually pits 20 of the top PBA bowlers against stars of Japan and Korea.

A format change in this year's event brought about much more uncertainty over who would advance to the finals. This year's Japan Cup featured single elimination, best-of-three-games match play rather than the round robin match play format used in year's past.

The anything-can-happen nature of the format reared its head in the first round, when top-seeded Mike Scroggins (Amarillo, Texas) fell to No. 64 Shigeo Saito, 2-0. Saito won his next two matches to advance to Sunday's finals, along with fellow JPBA stars Takashi Masuda, Yoshiki Ohsawa, Masao Uehara and Isao Yamamoto along with KPBA star Byun Yong Hwan.

At just 25 years old, Yamamoto is the top young star in Japan as he is ranked No. 2 in the JPBA rankings. The lefty will take on Koivuniemi in the Round of 8, who is known on the Denny's PBA Tour as the "left-handers' worst nightmare," due to his 12-2 career record against lefties on television.

"I'm playing probably the best Japanese bowler right now, but I like my record against lefties and I'd like to keep it that way," Koivuniemi, looking to become the first European to win the Japan Cup, said. "This format is very different because it's so short, but it's the same for everyone. You have to execute and make shots when you need to."

When told of Koivuniemi's record against lefties, Yamamoto, who is about a foot shorter than the Big Finn, laughed and said he would be the third to defeat him. He then got serious and discussed his chances Sunday as he will look to become the first Japanese player to defend their home turf since Takeo Sakai in 1988.

"It doesn't matter who I bowl, whether it's Mika or one of the other JPBA players or a KPBA player," Yamamoto said. "I joked when I said I would be the third to beat him, but I have to believe that because if I get nervous about who I'm bowling then mentally I have already lost. I want to be confident in myself and not worry about being left-handed or bowling a PBA player."

As for Wolfe, he has Jack Jurek to thank for his appearance in Japan this week. Jurek recently dropped out of the event as one of the 16 bowlers earning all-expenses paid trips. That allowed Koivuniemi to move into one of those 16 spots rather than taking a spot as one of the four additional players invited to pay their own way. A spot then opened up for Wolfe, who flew in for his second career Japan Cup.

Wolfe had to get past fellow Denny's PBA Tour star Sean Rash in the Round of 16. After dropping the first game, 212-179, Wolfe came roaring back to win the next two games by scores of 246-198 and 285-224. Rash (Wichita, Kan.) was making his first career Japan Cup appearance. Wolfe will take on Saito in the Round of 8.

Koivuniemi needed a roll-off in the deciding third game against two-time Japan Cup champion Tommy Jones (Simpsonville, S.C.) to win his Round of 32 match. The two former PBA Players of the Year split the first two games before tying at 246 in the third game. After both struck with their first shots in the sudden death roll-off, Koivuniemi struck with his next shot while Jones could only knock down nine.

The Big Finn then had to come back from a deficit in the Round of 16 to defeat No. 59 Hiroshi Nagatani, 2-1. After dropping game one, 259-232, Koivuniemi closed out the match with wins of 246-221 and 202-196.

Japan's Ohsawa had an impressive day, going 6-0 in knocking off three PBA stars to advance to the finals. He defeated 26-time champion Norm Duke (Clermont, Fla.) in the Round of 64, all-time Denny's PBA Tour titles leader (42) Walter Ray Williams Jr. (Ocala, Fla.) in the Round of 32 and Chris Loschetter (Avon, Ohio) in the Round of 16.

The eight-bowler finals take place Sunday at the Tokyo Metro Gymnasium. All Round of 8 matches are single-game matches followed by two single-game semifinals and the title match.

TVファイナル進出者8名

Ａゾーン

斉藤茂雄 vs マイク・ウルフ

予選通過最下位の64位で通過した元ナショナルチーム主将の斉藤茂雄（42期）が2年ぶり2回目出場のマイク・ウルフと対戦

大澤義樹 vs 益田隆司

今季「埼玉オープン」を制した大澤義樹（12期）と昨年「シニアチャンピオン」で初優勝を挙げた益田隆司（27期）とのﾍベテラン対決

Ｂゾーン

山本勲 vs ミカ・コイブニエミ

現在2週連続優勝と絶好調の山本勲（44期）対、北欧フィンランド出身で長身（193cm）のミカ・コイブニエミとの身長差30cm凹凸対決

ビョン・ヨンハン vs 上原正雄

ミスターKPBA（KPBA1期生ライセンスNo.1）のビョン・ヨンハン対、予選スタート時にブラインドが出た為、選抜通過次点者で繰り上がり出場となった品川B/C所属の上原正雄（24期）がまさかの？TVファイナル進出で大万馬券となるか

Mike Scroggins is off to a scorching start in the opening event of the 2007-08 Denny's Professional Bowlers Association PBA Tour season.

The three-time Denny's PBA Tour titlist opened the Dydo Japan Cup 2007 with an 814 series in his first three games and cruised to the lead after qualifying with a 2,868 12-game pinfall Friday at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel to earn the top seed for Saturday's match play.

Scroggins, who fired a 300 game Wednesday in an exhibition, nearly duplicated the feat in his first game Friday, striking with his first 10 shots and settling for a 289. He followed with games of 268 and 257 in games two and three, respectively, and dipped below 214 in just one of his final nine games to finish with a 239.00 average.

The Amarillo, Texas, resident is cautious about getting too excited for match play Saturday as the format features single elimination, best-of-three games.

"Being the leader means you had to bowl a lot of good games and I started off with some good games and just kept the momentum going," Scroggins said. "On this format though, tomorrow is like starting over. The 64th place bowler has as much of a chance as the first-place bowler. It's a new tournament and a new game."

In search of his first career Japan Cup title, Scroggins will face No. 64 Shigeo Saito of Japan. The Japan Cup features 21 Denny's PBA Tour stars and the best of the Japan Bowling Association and the Korean Bowling Association.

Yukio Yamazaki and Isao Yamamoto of Japan finished second and third, respectively, followed by nine PBA stars. Ryan Shafer (Horseheads, N.Y.) finished fourth with 2,745, Norm Duke (Clermont, Fla.) finished fifth with 2,744 and Bill O’Neill (Levittown, Pa.) was sixth with 2,736.

The only match in Saturday's Round of 64 featuring two PBA players is the match up between 2006-07 PBA Player of the Year Doug Kent (Newark, N.Y.), who finished 20th with 2,622, and No. 45 Jeff Carter (Springfield, Ill.), who finished with 2,552.

Defending champion Walter Ray Williams Jr. (Ocala, Fla.), who won his record-breaking 42nd Denny's PBA Tour title in last year's Japan Cup, finished 28th with 2,598.

Last year's runner-up, PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber (St. Ann, Mo.), missed the cut by four spots, finishing 68th with 2,487, just 21 pins shy of the cut after shooting just 182 in his final game.

Kelly Kulick, who received a special invitation to bowl in the Japan Cup, making her the first American female ever to bowl in the event, also finished out of the cut in 83rd.

1stシリーズで800シリーズ（814）を達成したマイク・スクロギンス（2年連続3回目）がそのままトップで準決勝へ！また58歳の大ベテラン山崎行夫が意地を見せ2位、「コリアンカップ」「ＭＫチャリティカップ」と2週連続優勝で絶好調の山本勲が3位で準決勝進出。明日の準決勝トーナメント戦はシード戦が無い為、JPBAの上位進出・8名のTVファイナル進出に大いに期待。なお予選スタート時にブラインド者が出た為、選抜通過次点者で繰り上がり出場となった上原正雄（24期：品川B/C所属）が50位で準決勝進出・賞金ゲット、このラッキーで明日の準決勝も注目したい。