Zapanta completes Bing back-to-back

June winner Raphael Zapanta completed a Bing back-to-back when he won the July Bing Prince of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament last Sunday at the Saipan Bowling Center in San Jose.

The son of bowling officials Ross and Gigi Zapanta knocked down 656 pinfalls in a four-game series to finish with an average of 164 to hoist July’s youth championship, which is already his fifth of the year.

The 13-year-old Chacha Junior High School student started off on the right foot, knocking down 209 in his first game before rolling pedestrian scores of 133, 145, and 169 in his last three games.

Zapanta added the July title to his previous triumphs in February, March, May, and June.

Trailing Zapanta by 99 pins was April champion Zack Cruz who wound up with a 555 total and a 138 average. Cruz started out slowly by firing pedestrian rolls of 121 and 129 in the first two games. He made up for that with a 181 in the third before closing out with a whimper with a throw of 124.

Nikko Gutierrez finished third with a four-game series of 511 and 127.5 average. He started out with a 134, rolled a 96 in the second, 150 in the third, before struggling again in the final with a 131.

Jonah Delos Reyes, Kevin Royal, and Troy and Toby Verdaguer make up the rest of the participants for the July Bing Prince of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament with pinfall totals of 501, 492, 448, and 320, respectively.

For finishing 1-2-3, Zapanta, Cruz, and Gutierrez won $20, $15, and $10, respectively from SBA. Micronesian Brokers, Inc. also gave Zapanta a case of Selecta Ice Cream.

Jon Hensley and Yho Villavicencio, meanwhile, are leading the July Budweiser King and Queen of the Lanes following Sunday’s roll-off at the San Jose venue.

Hensley opened up with a low 155 but made up for it with throws of 205 and 215 before concluding with a 173 Sunday to finish with a 748 total and 187 average to top the men’s division.

He is followed by Raul Dumapit (743 and 185.75) and Nick Gutierrez (732 and 183).

Villavicencio, for her part, leads the women’s division in Day 1 of the monthly tournament after tattooing 693 pinfalls, good for a 173.25 average.

Ron Cal (687 and 171.75) and Gloria Omechalang (666 and 166.5) finished second and third in the Queen of the Lanes.

Results of Day 2 of the two-day King and Queen of the Lanes last night were still not available as of press time.

The Bing Prince/Princess of the Lanes as well as the Budweiser King and Queen of the Lanes are sponsored by MARPAC. The tournaments are organized by the Saipan Bowling Association.