CNMI delegation puts on respectable show

The CNMI delegation concluded its charge in the 19th Asian Intercity Bowling Championship Friday at the Jaya Ancol Bowling Center in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Department of Public Safety officer Simon Manacop led the way for the delegation, placing a respectable 26th out of 72 bowlers from around the Asia-Pacific region.

Manacop was actually in contention to qualify for the Masters Event, trailing 16th place Daniel Yiu of Hong Kong by just 71 pins after the first block of the team competition, but cooled off in the second block to see the gap widen.

Manacop, who joined fellow veterans Mark “The Shark” Halstead, John Santos, and Joseph Sablan in Team Saipan, finished with 3,518 pins in 18 games over three days of work for an average of 195.44 pins per outing.

The group was in 12th place in the team competition after the first block—three games each—with a combined score of 2,283, but dropped to 16th after the day was over, finishing with 4,366 pins.

Manacop was in good shape after the first game of the second block, bruising 205 pins after knocking down 206, 194, and 222 pins in his first three games of the team competition. His hot streak iced up a bit as the 26-year-old nailed 160 and 157 pins in his final two games for a total of 1,144 pins.

For his part, Santos knocked down 1,136 pins in team play—185, 179, and 166 in second block—but still finished a notable 41st in the All Events standings with a three-day total of 3,399 pins for an average of 188.83.

Halstead bowled scores of 186, 169, and 185 in the second block to finish team play with 1,083 pins. He placed 63rd with a total of 3,186 pins, while Sablan left his mark on a total of 3,102 pins, getting 1,003 of them in the team competition.

Meanwhile, youth bowler Raymond Zapanta posted the third-best total score among CNMI players with 3,306 pins for 53rd place.

The young gun led the way for Team Capitol Hill, knocking down 1,070 pins in the team competition to cap his run.

Francisco Barja had the best outing in the team competition for Capitol Hill, hitting down 1,133 pins while youth bowlers Raymond Angelles and Ruselle Zapanta drilled 1,094 and 1,012 pins.

Team Capitol Hill finished with 4,309 pins in the team competition, besting Team Pasay, which finished with 4,275 pins.

In the three days, Barja managed to hit 3,238 pins while Angeles marked up 3,090 pins. Ruselle Zapanta left his mark on 2,973 pins.

In all, a total of 72 male bowlers from 18 countries competed in the tournament .

The Masters Event began yesterday and concludes today. Indonesian Lily Suhaimi of Kepulauan Seribu led the women’s field after the first half of the first block yesterday while singles gold medallist and Masters defending champion, Purvis Granger of Paranaque City held the lead in the men’s competition.

All participants will be hosted with a farewell banquet tonight.

The CNMI delegation was also accompanied by head of delegation and SBA president Jerry Tan, as well as manager and coach Ross Zapanta.

The tournament is officially sanctioned by the International Bowling Federation, the World Tenpin Bowling Association, and the Asian Bowling Federation-the worldwide governing bodies of tenpin bowling.

Updates of the tournament are available at the ABF website www.abf-online.org.