AFTER rolling a record series of 819 the other day, Filipino bowling ace Jomar Jumapao retained his top seeding in the men’s open elimination rounds of the 2nd PBF Pagcor Philippine International Open at the Coronado Lanes at Starmall in Mandaluyong City.
Last year’s finalist in the prestigious World Cup held in Mexico, Jumapao led six other Pinoy bowlers, who will qualify in the finals against a formidable foreign challenge from 10 other countries in Asia and Oceania.
The Cebuano national team mainstay compiled 1520 after breaking the 800-series barrier the other day, while national youth standout Kenzo Umali placed closely behind Jumapao with 1497 in the tournament backed by Smart Communications, Cafe Puro and Boysen Paints.
JP Macatula of MBA-Timbrepro and bowling great Paulo Valdez, who rolled the first perfect game of the meet late last week, are running third and fourth, with 1476 and 1467, respectively, followed by defending champion and Asian Indoor Games silver medalist Kenneth Chua (1436).
“We’ll be facing the foreign bowlers in the finals. We’re expecting a different challenge but we’re ready,’’ said Jumapao, who scored his third 800 series after pulling off the trick in 2004 and 2010.
National team head coach and international bowling Hall of Famer Paeng Nepomuceno acknowledged Jumapao’s feat, saying anybody is capable of scoring a perfect game of 300 on a lucky day, but not all can consistently bowl a record series of 800.
World Cup champion Krizziah Lyn Tabora secured the No. 1 spot in the women’s open after rolling a total of 1515 while fellow national teammates Liza Del Rosario and Alexis Sy compiled 1407 and 1381.
Promising young bowler Bea Hernandez placed fourth (1368), Dyan Coronacion fifth (1354) and defending champion Lara Posadas sixth (1353) before they face the best bowlers from Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, among others, in the finals.
Philippine Bowling Federation secretary general Bong Coo said the two-week tournament serves as qualifier of the national pool to the Asian Games in Indonesia come August.
The qualifying will run until tomorrow with the top 6 qualifiers from both divisions advancing outright to the finals on Sunday while defending champions Chua and Posadas are already seeded in the championship round.
Australia’s Sam Cooley became the first foreign participant to qualify in the men’s open division finale with a score of 1462.
In the juniors’ division, 14-year-old Art Barrientos posted an eight-game series of 1695 to rule the 15-and-under category.
Female junior bowlers Norel Nuevo (1599) and Dale Lazo (1553) placed second and third, respectively, behind Barrientos.
John Mendoza topped the classified senior masters division with a 10-game series of 2056, a total of 58 pinfalls better than second-placer Romy Jaime while Boyet Delfino rolled 1977 to finish third overall.