Sablan wins year’s first Queen of the Lanes

Kegler Gina Sablan kicked off 2006 with style Monday night as she won her first Pepsi Queen of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament at the Saipan Bowling Center.

Sablan was off to a decent start, as she knocked down 191 pins in her opening game. She cooled off a bit and settled for a pedestrian 169 in her second game, but recovered with a stronger performance in her third game as she added 184 pins to her corner.

Sablan was far from done, though, as she maintained her focus in her final game and had the right touch to bruise 212 pins, resulting in her finishing with a total of 756 pins and an average of 189 pins per game.

“Of course I’m happy and proud,” Sablan said shortly after receiving the top prize. “Maybe I’m just lucky tonight.”

Finishing behind Sablan was veteran Rita Palacios, whose score on Sunday was enough to get her into the Top 3. Despite a rough start in which she posted 161 pins, Palacios was able to turn things around as she came back strong in the second game for 205 pins before closing with 180 and 176 pins. She finished with a total of 713 pins for an average of 178.25 pins per game.

Palacios returned to the lanes on Monday in hopes of improving her score. She, however, settled for a total of 636 pins.

Taking third place was Rizza Hensley, who came back strong after a slow Sunday performance to finish with 709 pins. Hensley posted a score of 624 pins on the first day of the tournament but regrouped and shined for an average of 177.25 pins per game on Monday.

She had 174 pins in the first game, and knocked down 169 pins in her second game before closing with 189 and 170 pins.

Yho Villavicencio finished just a pin behind Hensley with 708 pins for an average of 177 pins per game. She gave Hensley a strong run after breaking past the 200-mark in the third game (206) and posting a score of 186 pins in her final game.

With the win, Sablan pocketed $75, while Palacios and Hensley won $40 and $30. Villavicencio won $20.

A total of 26 bowlers vied for the January title. Others that made it to the Top 10 include Elena Soll (694), Cora Muna (687), Lala Taitano (683), Sophie Fejeran (676), Marie Manansala (662), and Gloria Omechelang (661).

The Queen of the Lanes is held every month and culminates with a season-ending championship tournament. The tournament is sponsored by Pacific Trading Co. and organized by the Saipan Bowling Association.