Leong, Barja lead elite cast in SBA King stepladder finals

Richard Leong sat on top of the list of qualifiers to yesterday’s stepladders finals that would determine the true ruler of the season-ending Pepsi King of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament at the Capitol Bowling Center.

The three-time monthly champion returned to dominating form and bested 23 other bowlers after breaking over the 200 mark in seven games of the nine-game roll-off to finish with a total of 1,927 pins.

Leong, who won in July, September, and November, got off to a respectable start as he opened strong by knocking down 203 pins in his first game. He followed with 225 pins before slowing down a bit with 197 pins in his third game.

Leong recovered and bruised 211, 212, 234, 236, and 217 pins in the next five games before closing with 192 pins for an average of 214.11 pins per game.

Joining Leong in the stepladder contest were veteran Kitz Barja, Orlie Ebuen, youth bowler Raymond Zapanta, Percy Omechelang, and Edgar Talavera.

Barja had the second-best performance of the qualifying round as he made contact with 1,885 pins for an average of 209.44 per game.

Both Leong and Barja earned a bye in the first round of the stepladder finals and were automatically in the semifinals.

Fighting as of press time to earn the final two semis tickets were Ebuen and Talavera, and Omechelang and Zapanta.

Ebuen was ranked No. 3 heading into the stepladder competition after drilling 1,850 pins in the qualifying round. He had to fight off a slow start after kicking off his campaign with 180 pins in the first game. He recovered well and scored over 200 in six of the remaining eight games to finish strong.

Zapanta was seeded fourth with a total of 1,841 pins, while Omechelang followed with 1,828 pins. Talavera rounded up the qualifiers with 1,827 pins, barely getting by brother younger Robert, who finished his roll-off with 1,820 pins.

The winner of the Ebuen-Talavera bout was scheduled to face Leong in the semis, while the victor of the Omechelang-Zapanta match faced Barja. The winners of the semifinals faced off in the winner-take-all finals.

Other who made it to the Top 10 include Raymond Angeles (1,811), Dannie Robles (1,802), and Raul Dumapit (1,788).

Defending champion Mark “The Shark” Halstead was not able to advance to the stepladder competition as he finished in 18th place with a score of 1,691 pins.

Other bowlers who qualified for the year-ending tournament include Jonathan Eparwa, Simon Manacop, Alex Cacdac, Ador Dimaano, Ronald Epan, Jess Rebusada, John Santos, Efren Cacdac, Mario Mayuga, Arnel Del Rosario, Chester Bai, Joe Sablan, and Edgar Marquez.

An awards banquet was held at Club V at the Saipan Grand Hotel shortly after the tournament.

The monthly bowling competition is sponsored by Pacific Trading Co. and organized by the Saipan Bowling Association.