King Richard wins it all

It was already a great year for bowler Richard Leong after winning three monthly tournaments, but to cap it all off, the lefty once again shined on center stage and topped the season-ending Pepsi King of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament Sunday night at the Capitol Bowling Center.

Leong, who entered the championship roll-off as the favorite after winning the July, September, and November crowns, simply came through in the clutch as he scored well over the 200 mark in the semifinals and finals to claim the coveted title and $1,000.

As reported earlier, Leong lived up to expectations and topped the field of 24 bowlers in the nine-game qualification roll-off with 1,927 to advance to the stepladder finals.

With the highest score, Leong, who said he bowls well at CBC because of his familiarization with its lanes, earned a bye in the opening round and awaited an opponent in the semis.

No. 6 Edgar Talavera earned the right to face Leong after beating No. 3 Orlie Ebuen 192-133, but Talavera’s magic was not able to continue as Leong went back to his dominating ways and rolled to the finals after knocking down 217 pins, 44 pins better than Talavera.

Leong then battled rising star Raymond Zapanta in the winner-take-all finals, and the 36-year-old sales manager of Multi-Line Supply did not lose a step as he continued to bruise the pins en route to an easy victory, 212-153.

“I just tried to maintain my focus on what I’m throwing every time so I could be more consistent,” Leong said. “I’m not too sure why [Zapanta’s] last game against me was down…maybe because he was tired and that’s why I rested Saturday and tried to focus on playing at Capitol.”

Leong said he bowled on Friday before taking a one-day break in preparation for the tournament.

“Sometimes when I play at Saipan Bowling Center, then go back to Capitol, it messes up my game because it’s very hard to be switching lanes… you have to make immediate adjustments,” he said. “So after playing the Friday league, I rested on Saturday to prepare for [Sunday’s] game.”

During the finals, Leong said he tried hard to remain focused and refrained from being concern on Zapanta’s play.

“I try not to think of the scores, especially the other player’s score so I can stay focus,” he said. “Some of my friends that were there were telling me if I was behind by how many or ahead. So that’s all I needed to know. I really don’t think or look at what others are bowling because it really can distract you.”

Leong further explained that his impressive performances throughout the year simply meant he was “lucky.”

“Nobody knows. You can say I was just got lucky. It’s just luck and consistency. I usually play most of the time at Capitol so I’m play better there compared to the other lanes and luckily for me the tournament was held there,” he said.

Zapanta, who put up the fourth-best finish in the nine-game roll-off, still has much to be happy about as the youth standout still went home with $600.

He sizzled in his first match of the stepladder finals as he left a mark on 236 pins to beat Percy Omechelang, who had 178 pins.

Zapanta continued to fire up the points as he won in convincing fashion in the semifinals after drilling 235 pins against Kitz Barja’s 154.

All top six finishers, as well as top female performers, were presented with their cash prizes during an awards banquet at the Saipan Grand Hotel.

As reported earlier, Diane Camacho is the new Queen of the Lanes after winning the female roll-off a week ago at the CBC.

The Pepsi King and Queen of the Lanes is sponsored by Pacific Trading Co. and organized by the Saipan Bowling Association. A total of 12 monthly tournaments are played, with top bowlers receiving an invitation to compete for the overall champion at the end of the season.