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2018/02/27 |
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2018/02/25 |
Michigan’s Tom Smallwood Wins All Four Stepladder Matches to Capture Barbasol PBA Players Championship Title
Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., won four consecutive stepladder finals matches, including the title match against defending champion Jason Belmonte of Australia, to win the Barbasol PBA Players Championship at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl Sunday for his second major and third career PBA Tour title. With a 10-pin lead heading into the final frame, the 40-year-old Smallwood struck on his first ball in the 10th to beat Belmonte, 259-239, in the title match for his first tournament win since the 2013 PBA Scorpion Championship. The victory thwarted Belmonte’s attempt for a record-tying 10th major and 17th career tour title. Belmonte was the No. 1 qualifier for the finals and as top qualifier needed only to beat Smallwood for the title. It was an uphill battle for Smallwood for the entire tournament. After finishing 93rd after the first round, he battled back to eventually earn the No. 5 qualifying position for the stepladder finals. “That’s one of the assets of my game to grind through matches and never quit,” said Smallwood, whose first major came in the 2009 PBA World Championship. “I’m good with the pressure and if I’m not striking a lot I can hang in there to stay in contention. This tournament was a great example of that.” Smallwood’s stepladder journey to the title started with a 237-206 win over Canadian Patrick Girard, trying for his first tour title, who missed the headpin four times in the first match. Smallwood then edged out No. 3 qualifier Kris Prather of Plainfield, Ill., who was making his first TV finals appearance, 236-235. With both players working on a string of four strikes and tied heading into the 10th frame, Smallwood was able to take the win with a strike on his first ball and nine on his second shot after Prather struck and then left a seven-count split. Smallwood then moved on to meet four-time tour winner Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., who was coming off a runner-up finish in last week’s PBA 60th Anniversary Classic. Smallwood again escaped with a one-pin victory, 225-224, when he spared in the 10th frame and threw a nine count on his final ball. “I just kept telling myself to keep everything slow,” said Smallwood. “It was important to read what the ball was doing going down the lane and not overthink it. I just concentrated on keeping the ball in play. “You could say there was more pressure on some shots than others, but in reality, there’s pressure on every shot,” Smallwood added. “I’m not complaining, this is what I live for.” It marked the second consecutive major on the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour that the winner won all four stepladder matches for the title. Matt O’Grady of Rahway, N.J., won the PBA Tournament of Champions on Feb. 11 by sweeping all four finals matches. |
2018/02/23 |
Belmonte and O’Neill Run Away With Top Qualifier Spot for Roth/Holman Doubles Championship Finals
Barbasol PBA Players Championship top qualifier Jason Belmonte and eight-time PBA Tour winner Bill O’Neill averaged 236.57 as a team to earn top qualifier honors for the Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by BowlerX.com stepladder finals. After each player’s 30 games of qualifying during the Players Championship earlier in the week and 16 games of Baker format qualifying Friday, Belmonte and O’Neill led the field with a 17,979 pinfall total at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl. The Doubles Championship will be taped by ESPN Sunday at 5 p.m. ET after the Barbasol PBA Players Championship live finals which are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Fans can also catch the livestream of the Roth/Holman Doubles finals on ESPN3. The Doubles Championship will air on ESPN March 25 at 2 p.m. ET. Belmonte and O’Neill, looking for their first doubles title, held a commanding 327-pin lead over 2016 PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett of Huntington, Ind., and four-time tour winner Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., who finished second with a 17,652 pinfall. Kent also qualified second for the Players Championship finals. For Belmonte and O’Neill it’s their fourth consecutive Doubles Championship finals appearance having finished fourth in their three previous appearances. Kent and Tackett will be hoping to improve on their runner-up finish in 2017. Qualifying third were Kris Prather of Milton, Fla., who qualified third for the Players Championship finals, and Brandon Novak of Chillicothe, Ohio, with a 17,382 pinfall. Texans DJ Archer and Shawn Maldonado qualified fourth combining for a 17,316 pinfall. Archer will be trying for his third PBA Tour and Maldonado his first. Brothers Michael and Darren Tang of San Francisco moved from seventh after the day’s first Baker round to take the fifth qualifying spot with a 17,273 pinfall. The Tang’s, collegiate standouts at San Jose State, combined for games of 249, 226, 185, 277, 290, 213, 257 and 205 to beat out two-time doubles champions PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke and 10-time tour winner Wes Malott who finished sixth with 17,201. In 2017 Michael, 22, finished second in the United States Bowling Congress Masters, and Darren, 24, finished fourth. Both players will be trying for their first PBA Tour titles. The Tang’s combined for a Baker 300 game earlier in the day as did Prather and Novak. The Baker format requires each player on the team to alternate frames in the game to combine for one score. |
2018/02/22 |
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Jason Belmonte to Try for 10th Major Title From Top Qualifying Position in Barbasol PBA Players Championship Finals
After earning top qualifier honors for the Barbasol PBA Players Championship Thursday, defending champion Jason Belmonte of Australia is just one match win away from capturing a record-tying 10th Professional Bowlers Association major title. After Thursday’s sixth round, the four-time PBA Player of the Year finished with a 7,337 30-game pinfall total to earn the top qualifying berth for Sunday’s live Players Championship stepladder finals which will be televised by ESPN at 1:30 p.m. ET from Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl. A win in the title match would move Belmonte into a tie with Pete Weber and Earl Anthony for most career major victories. At 34, Belmonte would become the youngest by far to win 10 majors with Anthony winning his 10th major at age 46, and Weber, who won his 10th at age 50. In the second major of the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season, Belmonte, a 16-time tour winner whose major titles include the 2011 and 2017 Players Championships, led after every round and set a new average mark for highest qualifying average to make a stepladder final in a major averaging 244.57 for his 30 games. “Today I was as focused as I could be which enabled me to put my foot on the pedal and continue to throw the best shots I could possibly throw,” Belmonte said. “If I didn’t strike, I wanted to make every spare. I didn’t want to take anything for granted. “I’m in the best position I can be in to win,” he added. “Now I just need to continue to do the same thing I’ve done all week for one game and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.” In the PBA Tournament of Champions, Belmonte made a run at his 10th major title but finished fourth in the finals at AMF Riviera Lanes in Fairlawn, Ohio on Feb. 11. While Belmonte sits in the coveted top position for the finals, four challengers will be battling for the opportunity to meet him in the championship match. Qualifying second for the finals and making his second consecutive television appearance after his runner-up finish in last week’s Go Bowling! PBA60 Anniversary Classic, was four-time Tour winner Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash. Kent finished 278 pins behind Belmonte with a 7,059 pinfall. Making his first television appearance and qualifying third for the finals was Kris Prather of Milton, Fla., who finished with a 6,995 pinfall for 30 games. Patrick Girard of Canada made his first TV finals appearance in 13 years and third overall to take the fourth qualifying position finishing with a 6,924 pinfall. Two-time PBA Tour winner Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., who began the tournament in 93rd after the first round battled all the way back to earn the fifth and final TV finals position with a 6,903 pinfall. The 2009 PBA World Championship winner doubled in the 10th frame of the final game of qualifying to make it into the finals. The Players Championship qualifying rounds also determined 14 doubles team that will advance to Friday’s Mark Roth/Marshall Holman Doubles Championship presented by BowlerX.com final two Baker format qualifying rounds. After Friday’s rounds the top five doubles teams will be determined for the taped ESPN telecast that will follow the Players Championship finals at 5 p.m. Fans will also be able to catch the doubles final live on ESPN3. Belmonte and Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa., also dominated the Doubles Championship after six rounds finishing with a combined 14,235 30-game total. The pair will lead the 14 doubles teams that advanced to Friday’s final two Baker format qualifying rounds.
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2018/02/21 |
Australia’s Jason Belmonte Retains Lead in Barbasol PBA Players Championship Heading Into Final Two Qualifying Rounds
Australian Jason Belmonte took another step closer in his journey to win a record-tying 10th Professional Bowlers Association major title averaging 244 after four rounds to retain his leadin the Barbasol PBA Players Championship Wednesday at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl. In Wednesday’s third round, the two-hander who owns 2017 and 2011 Players Championships titles among his nine major wins, posted a 1,173 five-game pinfall total and followed up with 1,217 in the fourth round later in the day to bring his overall four-round pinfall total for 20 games to 4,884. Belmonte posted games of 243, 236, 223, 224 and 247 in the third round and 278, 238, 279, 204 and 218 in the fourth round. The four-time PBA Player of the Year holds a 67-pin lead over four-time tour winner and last week’s Go Bowling! 60th Anniversary Classic runner-up Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., in second with 4,817. Belmonte, a 16-time tour winner, is one major victory behind Pete Weber and Earl Anthony who lead the all-time list with 10 wins. Finishing the day in third was Kristopher Prather of Plainfield, Ill., who started the day in 27th but rocketed to third finishing with 4,725. He bowled games of games of 258, 198, 279, 278 and 266 in Wednesday’s fourth round to help him move into the top five. Rounding out the top five were one-time tour winners Stuart Williams and Richie Teece, both of England, with 4,686 and 4,667, respectively. PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke, a 38-time Tour titlist and winner of seven majors, who was second after Tuesday’s second round dropped to 17th with a 4,511 pinfall for four rounds. The Players Championship is the only major missing from the 53-year-olds resume. Competition continues with two five-game qualifying rounds Thursday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. After Thursday’s sixth qualifying round (30 games), the field will be cut to the top five players for the live ESPN finals Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET. The qualifying rounds for the Players Championship also determine the standings for the Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by BowlerX.com. After Thursday’s final qualifying round, the top 14 doubles team will advance to two Baker format qualifying rounds on Friday which will determine the top five doubles teams for the taped ESPN telecast that will follow the Players Championship finals at 5 p.m. Fans will be able to catch the doubles final live on ESPN3. Belmonte, and doubles partner Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa., also retained their lead in the Doubles Championship standings with a combined 9,489 combined 20-game pinfall total. They hold a 265-pin lead over Kent and EJ Tackett of Huntington, Ind., in second with 9,224. Rounding out the top five doubles teams were Prather and Brandon Novak of Chillicothe, Ohio, in third with 9,156; Duke and Wes Malott of Pflugervile, Texas, 9,142, and Canadians Patrick Girard and Zach Wilkens with 9,033. 41位 川添奨太 |
2018/02/20 |
Jason Belmonte Averages 249 to Take Barbasol PBA Players Championship Lead After Two Rounds
Defending champion Jason Belmonte of Australia began work on winning a record-tying 10th Professional Bowlers Association major title by averaging 249 after the first two rounds in the Barbasol PBA Players Championship Tuesday at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl. In the second major of the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season, the four-time PBA Player of the Year, who is also trying for his third Players Championship title, leads the 120-player field with a 2,494 10-game pinfall total. He bowled a 1,274 five-game pinfall in Tuesday’s first round with games of 243, 255, 229, 300 and 247 and followed with a 1,220 pinfall in the second round on games of 213, 257, 247, 224 and 279. “I’m leading right now but that’s not my goal at this point,” said the 34-year-old Belmonte, a 16-time Tour winner. “The scoring pace is pretty high and because of that nothing is guaranteed. You can shoot 210 or 220 and lose 50 or 60 pins. Thankfully, I was making good guesses on the adjustments and ball choices I needed to make today.” With a win, Belmonte, who also won the 2011 Players Championship, would tie Pete Weber and Earl Anthony who are tied for most PBA major titles. Belmonte holds a 97-pin lead over PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla. in second, who finished with a 2,397 pinfall. Duke, the 53-year-old winner of seven PBA majors, bowled 1,215 for five games in the first round and 1,182 in the second. Weber can take sole possession of the all-time career majors title lead with a win in the Players Championship but will have some work to do after finishing the day in 33rd with a 2,242 pinfall. Competition continues with two five-game qualifying rounds Wednesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. After Thursday’s sixth qualifying round (30 games), the field will be cut to the top five players for the live ESPN finals Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET. The qualifying rounds of the Players Championship will also determine the standings for the Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by BowlerX.com. After Thursday’s final qualifying round, the top 14 doubles team will advance to two Baker format qualifying rounds on Friday which will determine the top five doubles teams for the taped ESPN telecast that will follow the Players Championship finals at 5 p.m. Fans will be able to catch the doubles final via livestream on ESPN3. Belmonte, along with doubles partner eight-time PBA Tour winner Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa., also lead the Doubles Championship standings with a 4,873 combined 10-game pinfall total. They hold a 133-pin lead over Duke and his partner 10-time Tour winner Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, who combined 4,740. 38位 川添奨太 |
2018/02/18 |
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Arizona’s Jakob Butturff Completes Business, Wins Third Title in Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic
After leading the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic almost from the beginning, Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Ariz., finished his business at Woodland Bowl Sunday with a 244-154 victory over Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., to claim his third PBA Tour title. Butturff, a 23-year-old left-hander, cruised to the $30,000 first prize behind an opening string of three strikes and another string of four late in the game after Kent ran into big trouble early in the game when he left three splits and failed to convert any of them. It was an especially rewarding win for Butturff after leading the 2017 U.S. Open by a stunning 617 pins, only to lose the title to Rhino Page in the title match. “This title means the world to me,” Butturff said. “The thought of the U.S. Open was in my mind before practice, but I told myself I was not going to get my nerves get to me this time. When Marshall struggled early in the match, I just put my foot to the metal. “Redemption was on my mind, but I just wanted to make a better showing than I did in the U.S. Open.” Kent advanced to the championship match with a 218-210 win over two-handed lefty Keven Williams of Springfield, Mo., who had never finished higher than 34th place in his limited three-year PBA career. Kent jumped into an early lead with four strikes, but left the 2-8-10 split and a five-count “washout,” failing to convert either one to let Williams back into the match. After a strike nine-count in the 10th to give Williams a chance, the 25-year-old two-hander struck on his first shot in the 10th, but then left a 3 pin on his second shot to end his upset bid. Japan’s Shota Kawazoe, in his debut on American television, rallied to defeat Indianapolis’ Matt Sanders in the opening match, 183-160. After starting with back-to-back splits and open frames, Kawazoe struck on four of his next five shots while Sanders, the 24-year-old 2017 PBA Rookie of the Year, was unable to strike until the seventh frame. A pair of splits and opens in the final two frames sealed his fate. In the second match, Williams started his television debut with four strikes, but Kawazoe again came from behind, throwing four strikes in a row to take the lead into the 10th frame. Needing to convert the 10 pin in the 10th frame, the 16-time Japan PBA champion missed, handing Williams a 229-225 win and a berth in the semifinal match. The Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic was the third event of the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season and was part celebratory week that included the PBA 60th Anniversary Celebration dinner and hall of fame induction ceremonies Saturday. The PBA now heads to Columbus, Ohio, where Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl will host the season’s second major championship, the Barbasol PBA Players Championship, and the Mark Roth-Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship. All preliminary rounds of the Players Championship and Roth-Holman Doubles Tuesday through Friday will be live streamed on PBA’s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. To sign up, visit xtraframe.tv. The Players Championship finals will air live on ESPN next Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The Roth-Holman Doubles finals will be live streamed on ESPN3 at 5 p.m. and taped for delayed broadcast on ESPN on Sunday, March 25, at 2 p.m. All times are Eastern.
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2018/02/17 |
【PBA】 News New Hall of Famers, 2017 Award Winners Honored During PBA’s 60th Anniversary Celebration Dinner
On the eve of the finals of the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic finals at Woodland Bowl, a crowd of more than 300 PBA fans, industry leaders and members of the bowling news media gathered at the Marriott North for the PBA 60th Anniversary Celebration Dinner to recognize the PBA’s three newest Hall of Famers – Chris Barnes, Ron Mohr and the late Don Mitchell; its 2017 award winners and to officially begin a year-long celebration of 60 years of professional bowling at its finest.
Kicking off the evening, PBA CEO and Commissioner Tom Clark introduced PBA’s four individual award winners. The entire celebration dinner was live streamed on PBA’s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. PBA Hall of Famer Del Ballard Jr. of Keller, Texas, who converted his own battle with tonsil cancer into a successful, ongoing “Ballard Vs. the Big C” fund-raising program, was selected as the recipient of PBA’s Tony Reyes Memorial Community Service Award. “This is such an honor because Tony Reyes was close to me as his tour rep when he won his PBA title. This award is very humbling,” Ballard said. “All I did to earn it was supply the cancer. My wife and friends did the rest.” Ballard’s life changed in May 2010 when he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer. One evening after a treatment, the 13-time PBA Tour titlist, wife Carolyn and a handful of friends got together at Ballard’s house and laid the groundwork for what would become “Ballard Vs. The Big C” – or BVBC for short. As of 2017, BVBC has raised in excess of $300,000 to carry out research on cancer treatments focused on the head, neck and throat. Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio, was selected by his fellow competitors as the Steve Nagy PBA Sportsmanship Award winner. “I bet 10 years ago a lot of didn’t think I’d win this award, but I’ve calmed down,” Loschetter said. “I’m in awe of how talented you guys are. Many of you should win this award, and I’m sure some of you will. It’s been an amazing journey and I’m grateful you guys think I’m deserving. I’ll try to keep behaving myself on the lanes.” Loschetter, a 37-year-old two-time PBA Tour champion, completed a nine-year quest for his first PBA Tour title in the 2012 Wolf Open in Milwaukee and won his second with the Merica Rooster Illusion team that won the 2016 PBA Team Challenge title while still in recovery from his own battle with cancer. Loschetter has been a member of the PBA League’s Philadelphia Hitmen since the program’s inception in 2013. Matt Sanders, an Evansville, Ind., native now living in Indianapolis, was recognized as the 2017 Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year after winning two titles and leading a strong class of PBA rookies in both earnings and average. “Just coming out here and living my dream is something special,” Sanders said. “I was lucky to have an awesome year and I loved every minute of it. Hopefully I can keep doing it.” Sanders, a former two-time NAIA All-American with Marion University-Indiana, was the only rookie to win a PBA Tour title in 2017 (in the PBA Xtra Frame Billy Hardwick Memorial Open) and he concluded his first season with a fifth-place finish in the PBA World Championship. For the fourth time in the past five seasons, Australia’s Jason Belmonte was recognized as the GEICO Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year. “In my opinion this is the second greatest award a player can win behind being inducted into the hall of fame,” Belmonte said. “It isn’t something I take for granted; it inspires me to be better.” Belmonte, after becoming the first player in PBA history to win three major championships among his four titles in 2017 and setting a PBA average record (229.39) in the process, was a landslide winner in Player of the Year voting. At age 34 he joined Mark Roth as a four-time winner of the award, trailing only Walter Ray Williams Jr.’s seven POY Awards, and the late Earl Anthony with six. Mitchell, the first hall of fame inductee, succumbed to cancer in 2012 at age 80. He went from managing a small bowling center in Indianapolis to developing the Royal Pin Leisure Centers chain, which has hosted dozens of showcase events at all levels of bowling. Its centerpiece – Woodland Lanes on Indianapolis’ north side – has hosted every major championship the PBA has offered, which made it a natural choice to host the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic. Mitchell’s bowling center empire grew from one center in 1974 to multiple centers with more than 300 lanes and five pro shops. He was a vocal advocate for the PBA as the sport’s most prominent promotional vehicle, and he put his money behind his passions. He was equally enthusiastic as a bowler, competing in 50 USBC Open Championships. He is the first bowling proprietor elected to the PBA Hall of Fame exclusively based on his role as a bowling center owner. Following a video tribute from a number of players who were benefactors of Mitchell’s hospitality and dedicated, son David said, “I know Dad is looking down on us and smiling. We’re very appreciative of this award. Dad would probably say he was very proud to receive the award, but didn’t do much to earn it. “Don Mitchell had bowling running through his blood,” David Mitchell continued. “He brought first-class bowling experiences to the bowlers of Indianapolis. If you asked bowlers on tour about their favorite bowling center, many of them would say Woodland Bowl. I know the recognition he’s receiving tonight would make him burst at the seams. It’s a great honor.” Mohr was a late starter. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native moved to Alaska at age 23 and got a job in a bowling center in Anchorage. He began dating a girl whose father worked for the FAA at the time President Ronald Reagan fired all of the striking air traffic controllers who refused his order to return to work. Mohr wound up working as an air traffic controller in Alaska for 25 years. He also had a chance to develop bowling skills and in 1988 earned a berth on Team USA, where he got his first taste of elite level competition. When he retired from his air traffic controller position in 2008, he decided to try the PBA50 Tour. In his breakout season in 2009, Mohr won three of his nine career PBA50 Tour titles en route to his first POY award (he won again in 2011). In nine full seasons as a “senior” bowler, he has finished in the top 10 in earnings and averages each year, and has never had a season averaging below 220. He currently is the two-time defending PBA60 Player of the Year. In presenting Mohr, his friend and fellow PBA50 competitor Mike Dias said, “Ron’s workout regime is legendary. He does 45 consecutive minutes of sit ups every day. I get so tired watching, I have to get a drink. But Ron bowls like he works out. He puts everything he has into every shot.” “Wow. What an incredible journey. Induction into the PBA Hall of Fame is an individual honor, but it doesn’t happen by yourself,” Mohr said, recognizing the many friends and industry associates who played a role in his career. He also thanked PBA Hall of Famer Marshall Holman, “my role model who showed me that intensity and passion can make great things happen.” Of Walter Ray Williams Jr. Mohr said, “he showed me the desire to win doesn’t diminish with age.” And of Parker Bohn III: “he shows us all the world would be a better place if we all had a little bit of Parker Bohn in us.” Barnes, an 18-time PBA Tour title winner, was a consensus selection. He was a late-comer to PBA competition an All-America career at Wichita State University, a starring role with Team USA and a prolific nine-year career as a “professional amateur,” finally joining the PBA just before his 28th birthday. The Kansas native, now living in Double Oak, Texas, is one of five players to win both PBA Rookie and Player of the Year honors, and one of six players to complete the PBA Triple Crown (2005 U.S. Open, 2006 PBA Tournament of Champions and 2011 PBA World Championship). Now 47, and he ranked among the top 10 in PBA earnings for 16 consecutive seasons, surpassing the $1 million milestone in career earnings in a then-record 170 events. “When Chris called me to present him into the PBA Hall of Fame, I began to wonder what you had to do to get in,” said former PBA star and Barnes’ personal coach, Mark Baker. “There are a number of boxes to check off, and Chris checked them all.” Baker said the first time he worked with Barnes, he asked Baker for help and Baker answered, “No thanks, I’m good.” Barnes asked, “What do you mean?” Baker responded, “You’re the best player in the world, I don’t want to screw you up.” “It’s great to think my name will be among the greatest our sport has known, but nothing happens on its own,” Barnes said. “Looking back, I never thought of myself as a great player, but I kept driving myself to find out what was wrong and how I could fix it. “I’ve probably received more help from coaches than anyone else in this room, mostly because I needed it,” he added. “It’s been a life-long goal to stand up here tonight, to be able to stand atop the mountain, so thank you very, very much.”
【PBA】 PBA League Draft TOC Champion Matt O’Grady First Pick as PBA League Managers Complete 2018 Team Rosters
Matt O’Grady of Rahway, N.J., fresh off his first PBA Tour victory in last week’s PBA Tournament of Champions, was the first of 16 PBA members drafted Saturday at Woodland Bowl as the eight PBA League teams filled out their rosters for the 2018 PBA League Elias Cup competition April 20-22 at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine. The PBA League Draft, held in Woodland Bowl’s Beer Thirty Lounge, began with OceanView at Falmouth Brooklyn Styles’ manager Johnny Petraglia, selecting O’Grady, a 31-year-old former Junior Team USA member, from a list of 49 eligible players. “Matt has really dedicated himself the last six months,” Petraglia said. “He’s really stepped it up, worked hard to get himself into shape, and he’s a great competitor. He’s in a really good place and he’ll be a great addition to our team.” “I’m elated,” O’Grady said. “I’ve never been selected (for PBA League competition) before and I know the atmosphere is something I’ll thrive in. I’m over the moon.” O’Grady, who tends to exhibit his excitement in competition, will feel at home in the Bayside Bowl environment which traditionally features a full house of boisterous, exuberant fans. Following O’Grady, Barbasol Motown Muscle manager Del Ballard Jr. picked Japan PBA star Shota Kawazoe, the No. 5 qualifier for Sunday’s Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic finals and another PBA League rookie. Sysco Philadelphia Hitmen manager Jason Couch also picked a PBAL first-timer, 2017 PBA Rookie of the Year Matt Sanders of Indianapolis. PBA League veterans selected in the first round of picks included BJ Moore of Greensburg, Pa., by GEICO NYC WTT KingPins manager Carolyn Dorin-Ballard; Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic top qualifier Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Ariz., by bowlingball.com L.A. X manager Andrew Cain; Dick Allen of Columbia, S.C., by Go Bowling! Silver Lake Atom Splitters manager Mark Baker; DJ Archer of Friendswood, Texas, by Port Properties Portland manager Tim Mack, and, with the final pick of the first round, Rhino Page of Orlando, Fla., by two-time defending champion Shipyard Brewing Dallas Strikers player-manager Norm Duke. The final round of selections saw more members of the PBA’s youth movement getting a chance to experience PBA League competition for the first time: Anthony Pepe of Elmhurst, N.Y., with the KingPins; AJ Johnson of Oswego, Ill., with the Atom Splitters; Thailand’s Yannaphon Larpapharat with the hometown Portland Lumberjacks, and, with the final pick of the draft, Kyle Sherman of O’Fallon, Mo., with the Strikers. “The PBA League has become so popular, and there are so many talented players who deserve to bowl in the league, you can’t help but be disappointed if you don’t get picked,” said PBA CEO and Commissioner Tom Clark. “The only thing we can do at this point is encourage our players to keep trying. Remember that seven first-time players were selected this year.” The draft order was in reverse order of how teams finished last year, beginning with the No. 8 OceanView Brooklyn Styles, followed by Barbasol Motown Muscle, GEICO NYC WTT KingPins, bowlingball.com L.A. X, Sysco Philadelphia Hitmen, Go Bowling! Silver Lake Atom-Splitters, Port Property Portland Lumberjacks and the two-time defending champion Shipyard Brewery Dallas Strikers. The complete rosters for 2018, beginning with the three players each manager had earlier protected from his/her 2017 roster and followed by players drafted Saturday, includes the following: ● OceanView at Falmouth Brooklyn Styles (manager Johnny Petraglia): Parker Bohn III, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Sean Rash, Matt O’Grady, Jason Sterner. ● Barbasol Motown Muscle (manager Del Ballard Jr.): EJ Tackett, Francois Lavoie, Anthony Simonsen, Shota Kawazoe, Josh Blanchard. ● GEICO NYC WTT KingPins (manager Carolyn Dorin-Ballard): Pete Weber, Marshall Kent, Sam Cooley, BJ Moore, Anthony Pepe. ● bowlingball.com L.A. X (manager Andrew Cain): Jason Belmonte, Stuart Williams, Martin Larsen, Jakob Butturff, Osku Palermaa. ● Sysco Philadelphia Hitmen (manager Jason Couch): Dom Barrett, Tom Smallwood, Ronnie Russell, Matt Sanders, Chris Loschetter. ● Go Bowling! Silver Lake Atom Splitters (manager Mark Baker): Chris Barnes, Jesper Svensson, Tom Daugherty, Dick Allen, AJ Johnson. ● Port Property Portland Lumberjacks (manager Tim Mack): Ryan Ciminelli, Wes Malott, Kyle Troup, DJ Archer, Yannaphon Larpapharat. ● Shipyard Dallas Strikers: player-manager Norm Duke, Tommy Jones, Bill O’Neill, Rhino Page, Kyle Sherman. The PBA returns to Portland in April. After the PBA Xtra Frame Maine Shootout April 17-18 (a PBA Tour title event), all PBAL teams will bowl an eight-game Baker format “seeding tournament” on April 20. The PBAL quarterfinals will take place on April 21 with the No. 1 seeded team vs. No. 8 and No. 4 vs. No. 5 on the first ESPN show that airs on April 22, followed by team No. 2 vs. No. 7, and No. 3 vs. No. 6 in the show that will air on April 29. Semifinal and Elias Cup final matches will be contested on April 22 to air on ESPN on May 6 and 13, respectively.
川添奨太 PBA League Motown Muscle に選出！
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2018/02/16 |
Jakob Butturff Leads Field of Five 20-Somethings into Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic Finals
Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Ariz., won seven of his final eight matches Friday night to lead the field of five 20-something finalists into Sunday’s championship round of the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic at Woodland Bowl. The stepladder finals will air live on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST. Butturff, a 23-year-old left-hander who has hovered in or near the lead throughout the tournament, will be joined in the stepladder finals by four-time PBA Tour winner Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., 25; two-handed lefty Keven Williams of Springfield, Mo., 25; Indiana native Matt Sanders, 24, and Japan PBA star Shota Kawazoe, the oldest player in the field at 29. Butturff, who won both of his PBA Tour titles in 2016 when he also won a PBA-record nine regional titles, averaged 236.29 for his 48 games, posting a 11,852 pinfall total to run away from Kent by 313 pins. Butturff’s only fault in the final round was a 192 game in the only match he lost. Otherwise he didn’t have a game lower than 234. Kent, PBA’s 2014 Rookie of the Year, won his most recent title in the 2017 Oklahoma Open. He finished with a 11,539 total. Keven Williams, a third-year PBA member, has a high finish of 34th place in limited PBA Tour competition. He held off Sanders, the 2017 PBA Rookie of the Year, by two pins for fourth place. The chase for the final berth in Sunday’s finals boiled down to the final game where Kawazoe struck out in the 10th frame to win the spot by a single pin over Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa. Kawazoe, a 15-time Japan PBA champion, has moved to the United States to bowl full-time in PBA competition in pursuit of his life-long dream, a PBA Tour title. The Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic is the second PBA Tour event of the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season and is part of a series of celebratory events including the PBA 60th Anniversary Celebration dinner and hall of fame induction ceremonies Saturday. |
2018/02/15 |
Jakob Butturff Regains Lead as Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic Enters Final Day of Match Play
Third-round leader Jakob Butturff lost his first four matches and dropped out of the lead in the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic at Woodland Bowl Thursday night, but surged back with four straight wins to close his round and regain the lead. Butturff, an unorthodox double-jointed left-hander, overtook Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., to start Thursday’s competition, rolling games of 268, 258, 290, 217, 185, 237, 300 and 209 in the morning round. The two-time PBA Tour titlist lost head-to-head matches with games of 215, 245, 205 and 246 to start the evening round, but then rolled games of 211, 244, 182 and 216, winning all four of those matches. Butturff finished the day with a 32-game total of 7,735 pins, including match play bonus pins, and a 94-pin lead over Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash. “The lanes were tighter on the back ends to start and my ball just wasn’t finishing the way I wanted,” the 23-year-old said. “It was a matter of staying patient, and we’ve got 16 more games to bowl on Friday, so we’ll see.” Kent, who also posted a 4-4 match play record, finished with 7,641 pins, 42 ahead of two-handed player Keven Williams of Springfield, Mo. Indianapolis’ Matt Sanders was fourth with a 7,479 total and Andrew Cain of Phoenix was fifth with 7,410 pins – one pin ahead of Andrew Anderson of Holly, Mich. Williams, Cain and Anderson all are trying for their first PBA Tour titles. The finals two eight-game match play rounds are set for Friday at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST. After 48 games, the top five players will advance to Sunday’s live ESPN stepladder finals at 1 p.m. EST. The Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic, dedicated to the organization’s 60th year of competition, is part of a season-long celebration will be the unveiling of the PBA’s 60 Most Memorable Moments, the PBA 60th Anniversary Celebration dinner and hall of fame induction ceremonies Saturday, and Sunday’s 60th Anniversary Classic finals. The Indianapolis tournament is part of the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour schedule. 15位 川添奨太 |
2018/02/14 |
Big Finish Propels Marshall Kent Roll into the Lead in Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic
Thanks to a big finish, Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., overtook 20-something left-handers Matt Sanders of Indianapolis and Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Ariz., to grab the second round lead in the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic Wednesday at Woodland Bowl. Kent, a 25-year-old four-time Professional Bowlers Association titlist and the tour’s 2014 rookie of the year, fired games of 215, 244, 268, 202, 227, 266 and a 256 in his closing game to finish the second round with a 1,946 pinfall total and a 16-game total of 3.891 pins. He overtook Sanders, the early leader, and Butturff, who wound up tied with Sanders, four pins behind Kent. “I got to play the way I really like to play,” Kent said. “Stand left, throw right, crank it up and watch it float back to the pocket. It worked well tonight.” Sanders, the 2017 PBA Rookie of the Year, was feeling under the weather, but he didn’t bowl like it earlier in the day when he rolled into the early lead. The 24-year-old left-hander rolled games of 204, 222, 258, 278, 237, 279, 278 and 216 to finish with a 16-game total of 3,887 pins. Butturff, 23, momentarily held the lead before closing with a 194 game to fall back into a tie for second. Those three and 34 others advanced to Thursday morning’s cashers round, remaining in contention for Sunday’s five-player stepladder finals. Sanders, a former NAIA All-American with Marian University, started slowly, but got hot in an event that has special meaning. An Evansville native, he recently relocated to Indianapolis. “It would really mean a lot to win a title in my home state,” Sanders said, “but I have to make it to the stepladder finals first.” Sanders won his first PBA Tour title in the Xtra Frame Billy Hardwick Memorial Open in Memphis last June. He also finished fifth in the end-of-2017-season PBA World Championship and finished sixth in last week’s PBA Tournament of Champions, missing the ESPN finals by 10 pins. Butturff also owns two titles, both won in 2016. In addition to Sanders, fellow Hoosiers Ronnie Russell of Marion (10th place) and EJ Tackett of Huntington (29th) were among the players who remain in contention. The Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic is a special tournament at the heart of a week dedicated to the organization’s birth in 1958 and 60 years of competition since then. Included in the season-long celebration will be the unveiling of the PBA’s 60 Most Memorable Moments, the PBA 60th Anniversary Celebration dinner and hall of fame induction ceremonies Saturday, and Sunday’s live 1 p.m. ESPN finals of the 60th Anniversary Classic. Based on 16-game qualifying totals, the top 37 players out of the starting field of 148 now advance to an eight-game cashers round Thursday at 9 a.m. After 24 qualifying games, the top 24 will bowl eight-game head-to-head match play rounds Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. 14位 川添奨太
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2018/02/13 |
Anthony Pepe Averages 252 to Take First Round Lead in Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic
Anthony Pepe, a 29-year-old left-hander from Elmhurst, N.Y., averaged 252 for his first eight games in the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic Tuesday to take the first round lead at Woodland Bowl by 20 pins fellow lefty Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Ariz. 9位 川添奨太 |
2018/02/11 |
Matt O’Grady Defeats Jesper Svensson to Win 53rd PBA Tournament of Champions
Advancing from a pre-tournament qualifier earlier in the week all the way to the title match, four-time Professional Bowlers Association regional tournament winner Matt O’Grady of Rahway, N.J., won the 53rd PBA Tournament of Champions Sunday for his first PBA Tour title. |
2018/02/09 |
Jesper Svensson Takes Top Spot for PBA Tournament of Champions Stepladder Finals
Two-hander Jesper Svensson of Sweden will bowl for his second PBA Tournament of Champions title and eighth career tour title as the top qualifier for the 53rd edition of PBA’s signature championship Sunday at AMF Riviera Lanes. The finals for the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season’s first major will air Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN. Svensson compiled a 16-6-2 match play record and 10,159 42-game pinfall total including match play bonus pins to secure the top spot 147 pins ahead of No. 2 qualifier second-year pro Andrew Anderson of Holly, Mich., who finished with a 10,012 pinfall. Svensson, who is already a seven-time Tour winner at age 22, became the youngest player to win the Tournament of Champions, when he captured the title in Shawnee, Okla., in 2016 at age 20, eight days short of his 21st birthday. Nearly failing to advance to match play after earning the 24th and final match play spot after qualifying on Thursday, nine-time PBA Tour major winner Jason Belmonte of Australia made a dramatic drive to reach the No. 3 qualifying position for the finals finishing with a 9,928 pinfall and 14-10 match play record. Belmonte, who won his fourth Player of the Year crown in 2017, is trying for his 10th PBA major title to tie PBA Hall of Famers Pete Weber and Earl Anthony for the all-time major title record. A win would also make the 2014 and 2015 Tournament of Champions winner the third player to win the major three times. Jason Couch and Mike Durbin are the other three-time winners. Should Belmonte, a 16-time tour winner capture the title, he would become only the fourth player to come from the 24th qualifying position, using PBA’s traditional head-to-head match play format, to win a major. The last player to accomplish the feat was Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III in the 2012 PBA World Championship. If Belmonte advances to the championship match against Svensson, it would also set up a rematch of the 2017 PBA World Championship title match where Belmonte beat Svensson for the win. Belmonte defeated Svensson 238-225 for a record third major win during the season with previous wins coming in the United States Bowling Congress Masters and Barbasol PBA Players Championship. BJ Moore of Greensburg, Pa., a PBA regional titlist and Matt O’Grady of Rahway, N.J., a four-time regional winner, took the fourth and fifth stepladder spots, respectively. Moore finished with a 9,873 pinfall and O’Grady finished with a 9,824 to take the final spot. Both players had 15-9 records in match play. Anderson, who owns one regional title as a PBA member, Moore and O’Grady advanced to the Tournament of Champions field through the pre-tournament qualifier. The PTQ enabled players who did not have tour titles, but owned titles in PBA’s other divisions, to earn spots in the field. |
2018/02/08 |
Russell Posts 6-2 Record in First Match Play Round to Retain Lead in PBA Tournament of Champions
Four-time PBA Tour winner Ronnie Russell of Marion, Ind., retained his lead in the PBA Tournament of Champions Thursday at AMF Riviera Lanes after the first match play round but had to withstand a challenge from 2016 TOC winner Jesper Svensson of Sweden who moved into second. Russell posted a 6-2 match play record and finished with a 6,201 four-round overall pinfall total, which includes 30 bonus pins for each match win, to lead Svensson who also recorded a 6-2 record and finished 73 pins behind with 6,128. In the first major tournament of the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season, Russell reeled off match wins with games of 259, 266, 220, 267, 257, then lost with games of 158, 202 before winning the final match with 226. “Bowling this well on a fresh condition isn’t really my game so I was pretty happy with the good start,” Russell said. “Everything was going well until I had trouble figuring out the pair of lanes in the sixth game. That was pretty frustrating but I was able to dig myself out of that whole and had a decent finish. “I’ve been relying pretty heavily on my equipment choices so far in the tournament,” he added. “I’m probably going to drill up a couple more balls so I can be more prepared for what I might experience tomorrow.” Svensson, a two-handed player who is already a seven-time Tour winner at age 22, became the youngest player to win the Tournament of Champions, when he captured the title in Shawnee, Okla., in 2016 at age 20, eight days short of his 21st birthday. Finishing the day in third was 2017 PBA Rookie of the Year Matt Sanders of Evansville, Ind., with a 7-1 record and 6,092 pinfall. Two-hander Anthony Simonsen of Austin, Texas, recorded a 5-3 record in match play and 6,052 pinfall to finish in fourth. Simonsen won the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Masters at age 19 to become the youngest player to win a major. Nearly failing to advance to match play after the final qualifying round earlier in the day, nine-time major winner Australian two-hander Jason Belmonte made a dramatic rebound posting a 5-3 match play record and 5,947 pinfall to move from 24th to seventh. Belmonte, who won his fourth Player of the Year crown in 2017, is trying for his 10th PBA major title to tie PBA Hall of Famers Pete Weber and Earl Anthony for the all-time major title record. A win would also make the 2014 and 2015 TOC winner the third player to win the major three times. Jason Couch and Mike Durbin are the other three-time winners. Using PBA’s traditional head-to-head match play format that advances 24 players from qualifying and awards 30 bonus pins for a match win, 15 players in PBA history have advanced from the 24th match play position to win a tournament. Three have accomplished it in majors. Match play continues Friday with rounds at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET. After Friday’s match play the top five players will be determined for Sunday’s live stepladder finals on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET. |
2018/02/07 |
Ronnie Russell Averages 232 to Lead PBA Tournament of Champions After Second Round
Four-time PBA Tour champion Ronnie Russell of Marion Ind., averaged 232 for two rounds Wednesday to lead 80 PBA champions in the PBA Tournament of Champions at AMF Riviera Lanes. Finishing 22nd after the first round earlier Wednesday with a 1,330 six-game pinfall total, Russell vaulted into the lead after bowling 1,460 in the second round finishing the day with 2,790 overall for 12 games. The 38-year-old Russell bowled games of 208, 277, 267, 264, 198 and 246 in the second round. “Overall, I’m bowling well but in the first round I wasn’t maximizing my performance in the ninth and 10th frames,” Russell said. “I was doing a better job of finishing games off in the second round. “There have been times when I get on a good run but get ahead of myself and I lose the shot,” Russell added. “I need to stay patient and stay within myself to avoid those mistakes. I was really encouraged by the way I came back in the last game after bowling 198.” Russell holds a 54-pin lead over Matt O’Grady of Rahway, N.J., in second with a 2,736 pinfall. Four-time and reigning PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte of Australia finished third after two rounds with a 2,723 pinfall (226 average). Belmonte, who won the Tournament of Champions in 2014 and 2015, also rocketed up the standings finishing 31st after the first round. Bowling 1,308 for his first six games, he came back with a 1,415 pinfall in the second round bowling games of 299, 205, 193, 214, 224, and 280. Belmonte, who uses the unique two-handed delivery, is trying to win his 10th PBA major which would tie him for first on the all-time list with Pete Weber and Earl Anthony. A third TOC title would also tie him for most victories in PBA’s signature tournament with Jason Couch and Mike Durbin. In 2017, Belmonte won the USBC Masters, PBA Players Championship and PBA World Championship to become the first player to win three majors in one season. Rounding out the top five in the first major of the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season were two more two-handers, Anthony Simonsen of Austin, Texas, who finished the day in fourth with 2,721 and Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, N.C., who finished fifth with a 2,718 pinfall. The entire field returns for Thursday mornings third and final qualifying round after which the field will be cut to the top 24 players who will advance to the first match play round at 6 p.m. ET. After Friday’s match play rounds at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., the top five players will be determined for Sunday’s live stepladder finals on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET. |
2018/02/06 |
【PBA】 PBA King of Bowling Wes Malott Extends PBA King of Bowling Reign With 2-0 Best-of-Three Match Win Over Jason Belmonte
Ten-time PBA Tour winner and former Player of the Year Wes Malott successfully defended his PBA King of Bowling crown for the eighth time by defeating challenger reigning PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte 2-0 in a best-of-three game match Tuesday at AMF Riviera Lanes. The kick-off to the PBA Tournament of Champions, which begins Wednesday with first round qualifying, was the first-ever PBA event streamed via Facebook Live. After winning the first game, 250-213, Malott came through with a clutch 10th-frame performance in the second game throwing three consecutive strikes to beat Belmonte 227-225. Belmonte, who finished the game first, threw the first two strikes in the 10th but left the 2-8 on his final ball leaving the door open for Malott. “Anytime you can throw three strikes in the 10th to win it really makes the win more satisfying,” said Malott. “Bowling against a great player like Jason I felt I had to get it done right then and there. I didn’t feel good about it going another game.” After the second strike in the 10th, Malott made a special effort to get into a positive mindset for the final shot. “I’ve been in those situations where when you need eight or nine (pins) to win you throw it away with a six or seven count,” he said. “I cleared my mind of any negative thoughts and didn’t take a lot of time on the approach. I just focused on making the best possible shot.” Since winning the inaugural King of Bowling challenge in 2009, Malott had successfully defended his crown by defeating Chris Barnes, Patrick Allen, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Rhino Page, Parker Bohn III, EJ Tackett and Belmonte in a trios challenge and most recently, Tommy Jones. Belmonte was chosen as Malott’s opponent by fan voting from a list of TOC champions on pba.com. The three other finalists in the voting were Barnes, Pete Weber and Norm Duke. The Tournament of Champions begins with first round qualifying Wednesday at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET. Qualifying and match play continue Thursday and Friday which will determine the top five for Sunday’s live stepladder finals on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET. |
2018/02/05 |
【JPBA】 JPBAスポンサー感謝の集いと表彰のご報告
本日2月5日（月）、JPBAスポンサー感謝の集いが催されました。 数々の大会などでご協賛頂いたたくさんのスポンサーの皆様にご出席頂き、昨年1年間のスポンサードに感謝の意を表すとともに和やかな歓談のひとときを過ごしました。 また席上にて2017年の殿堂表彰が行われ、西城正明氏、時本美津子、そして2009年にご逝去された故・金田惠子氏が新たに殿堂入りを果たされました。 そして2017年度の年間表彰として三冠王・川添奨太と三冠女王・松永裕美が表彰され、記念の盾が授与されました。 |
2018/02/04 |
PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke Helps Host Chris Paul Win His Fourth State Farm CP3 PBA Celebrity Invitational Doubles Title
With the help of PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke, Houston Rockets All-Star guard Chris Paul won his second consecutive and fourth overall doubles title in the State Farm CP3 PBA Celebrity Invitational presented by GoBowling! in a special televised Sunday on ESPN from Bowlero The Woodlands in the suburban Houston. In the featured event of the ninth annual invitational event involving PBA stars and celebrity bowlers benefitting Paul’s CP3 Family Foundation, Paul teamed with Duke for an error-free, 10 strike performance in the alternate-frame doubles format championship match to beat eight-time PBA Tour titlist Bill O’Neill and Boston Red Sox All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts, 259-226, in the title match. Paul and Duke combined for the first six strikes in the match which ultimately proved too much for the O’Neill/Betts team to overcome. In the ninth frame, Paul sewed up the win by picking up the challenging 4-5 split in front of an enthusiastic sold out crowd at Bowlero The Woodlands. “I’ve been blessed to have some great partners over the years and Norm certainly showed why he’s a Hall of Famer,” said Paul, who won last year’s event with PBA Hall of Famer Chris Barnes. “It was up to me to stay there with him and keep the momentum going. Bowling’s like every other sport where, when you get that momentum early, you want to keep it. If you do, good things are going to happen.” Paul also won doubles titles back-to-back in 2010 and 2011 with four-time PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte. For Duke, it was his first CP3 Celebrity Invitational win. “Going into the finals I felt like we were the underdogs,” said Duke. “Mookie is a talented player and Bill is one of the best in the land right now so we knew we were going to have our work cut out for us. “We got through the semifinal match in good shape but right before practice for the title match Chris was kind of lost and asked me ‘What should I do?’ Chris is a guy who likes to play the inside part of the lane and hook the ball, but I suggested he try playing outside where I was playing and, sure enough, he made it work. We just started striking and we were on our way. “I don’t want to understate how big that 4-5 split conversion was,” Duke added. “At that point the match still could have gone either way if he had missed it, but that was a great shot.” In the five-frame semifinal matches, the Duke/Paul team beat 2016 PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett and Paul’s Rockets teammate, James Harden, 109-90, and the Betts/O’Neill team beat the 2016 winners, newly-elected Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens and PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber, 130-73, to advance to the final match. Sunday’s telecast also featured a one-game Baker format team match with two-time PBA Tour winner DJ Archer of Houston, Paul, Harden, fellow Texan Dino Castillo and Rockets forward Trevor Ariza making up the Houston Strong team against 12-time Tour winner Sean Rash, Betts, Owens and 2017 Teen Masters representatives Hannah Diem of Seminole, Fla., and Logan Harvey of Titusville, Fla., making up the Bowlero All-Stars team. The Bowlero All-Stars overcame an open in the second frame to soundly defeat a struggling Houston Strong team, 215-158. In the third event of the telecast all of the participating celebrities, including actor/comedian Oscar Nunez and Rockets guard Bobby Brown, took part in the Go Bowling! Celebrity Super Clash sudden-death shoot out where the low score in each frame was eliminated. It came down to a dual against Owens and Ariza in the eighth frame with Owens striking to win against Ariza’s eight count. The Chris Paul Family Foundation strives to positively impact individuals and families by providing resources that enrich and strengthen healthy development of strong communities. |
