Talavera nails King of the Lanes title for July

Robert Talavera finally made homecourt advantage count in the Pepsi King of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament held over the weekend at the Saipan Bowling Center.

The 34-year-old SBC employee fired scores in excess of 220 pinfalls in his last two games on Sunday and finished with 841 pinfalls to win the monthly edition of the Saipan Bowling Association-organized event.

Talavera started Sunday’s competition with a 194 but slid a bit in his second trip to the lanes rolling a 187. After thinking it over on the sidelines, the right-hander returned with the vengeance in the third game bowling a 222. He then capped his brilliant afternoon with a score of 238 that pegged his average at a whopping 210.25 pinfalls in the four-game series.

“This is all great preparation for the Bowler of the Year and Classified tournaments in the coming months. I didn’t expect to win but I am first to admit that I’m pretty happy and satisfied with the way I rolled the bowling ball on Sunday,” he said.

Talavera acknowledged that he’s been practicing hard for the said tournaments and also is eagerly preparing for his participation in the Asian Inter-City Tenpin Bowling Championships in Shah Alam, Malaysia this September and October.

“I’ve been hitting the lanes these past several weeks. I’m in tip-top shape right now and hope to get better in time for the Bowler of the Year, Classified and Inter-City events,” he said.

March champion Raymond Zapanta finished a far second, 30 pinfalls behind Talavera. The 16-year-old Kagman High School student wound up with a four-game series total of 811 last Monday, which was good enough for an average of 202.75.

He started out with a 187 and steadily increased his pinfall output to 205 and 244 in the succeeding games but blew his chances of catching Talavera with a measly 175 in the fourth game.

Zapanta actually almost slid to third place with his abysmal performance in his encore. Top 10 fixture Ronald Epan settled for third place a mere pinfall separating his total to Zapanta’s.

Epan, who like Zapanta rolled on Monday, bowled a 198 in his first game but hit rock bottom with a 177 in his second. He rebounded mightily with a 208 in his third game and capped the evening with a 227.

Talavera earned $150 for his win, while Zapanta and Epan settled for the $70 and $45 first runner-up and third-place purses, respectively.

May King of the Lanes Alex Castro finished in fourth place with 803 pinfalls and took home $35, while Roman Mamauag cornered the fifth spot with his pinfall total of 788 and got $30.

The rest of the month’s top nine, with their respective scores and cash prizes in parentheses, are as follows: Efren Cacdac (787, $25); Dannie Robles (785, $20); Ador Dimaano (781, $10); and Alex Cacdac (781, $10).

In the women’s division, Cindy Iginoef was crowed the month’s queen of the lanes after rolling a score of 734. Emi Williams wound up second with her 729, while Elena Soll placed third after bowling a 677.

Iginoef pocketed $50 for her win, while Williams and Soll went home with $25 and $15, respectively.

The July Pepsi King of the Lanes Tournament attracted a total of 70 entries. The monthly bowling competition is organized by the Saipan Bowling Association and is sponsored by Pacific Trading Co. It will culminate with a season-ending championship tournament in January.