Saipan Tribune

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Ruselle, Simon advance to Sweet 16

Two Saipan bowlers qualified in the Men's Masters event of the 26th Asian Intercity Bowling Championships after a strong showing in the team competition last Monday at the Premium Lanes Penang in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia.

Earning slots to the prestigious event were Ruselle Zapanta and Simon Manacop, who were ranked No. 11 and 15, respectively, in the 60-plus field. Only the Top 16 bowlers advanced to the Men's Masters after combining their scores in the singles, doubles, and team event.

Ruselle Zapanta collected 3,752 pinfalls, getting 1,239 in the singles, 1,291 in doubles, and 614 (first block) and 608 (second block) in team event for an impressive average of 208.4 pinfalls per game.

Manacop made a huge leap in last Monday's competition, as he sat at the No. 25 spot after the singles (1,269) and doubles (1,125) roll-offs last weekend. Then in the team event, he knocked down 657 pins in the first block and 665 in the second to wound up with 3,716 pinfalls and average 206.4 per game.

Both Manacop and Ruselle Zapanta were playing in knockout matches in the Men's Masters yesterday and results will be reported in Saipan Tribune's Thursday edition.

Meanwhile, Raphael Zapanta, who was ranked No. 10 after the doubles and singles events, missed the Sweet 16, as he fell to No. 23, while Robert Talavera (No. 54), Bernard Paraiso ( No. 65), and Ariel Dumapit (No. 66) were also eliminated.

The Zapanta brothers, Manacop, and Robert Talavera joined forces for Saipan Bowling Association and finished third in the first block of the team event. The quartet totaled 2,453 pinfalls with Manacop giving the team 657 pinfalls, Ruselle chipping in 614, Talavera contributing 595, and Raphael adding 587. The SBA bets fell only six pinfalls behind the bowlers from Tamuning, Guam. The host city topped the first block with 2,540 pinfalls. Players rolled off three games in the first block.

Another three-game roll-off took place in the second block and adding the SBA keglers 2,290 pinfalls, Ruselle and company fell to the No. 8 spot, as they totaled 4,743. Tamuning's JD Guerrero, Jay Leon Guerrero, Duane Lee Camacho, and John Ada ruled the team event with their 5,297 pinfalls.