24th November, Jakarta: Triple gold medalist, Kim Young Pyo ended in style as he posted a final game of 299 to win the Men's Masters crown and Daegu's fourth gold medal in the concluding 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship.

All Events bronze medalist, Oh Young Gi of Uiwang was quick to grab the lead after posting 211 and 267 in his two opening matches of the 8-game round-robin second block finals and moving ahead of overnight leader, Lee Dong Hee of Pohang.

As the lanky Korean continued to take charge stretching his lead to 93 pins at the halfway mark followed by Paranaque's Purvis Granger in a distant second as Lee continued to drift down the field.

Triple gold medalist, Kim Young Pyo then fired 247, 258 and 278 in the next three games to close the gap to just 4 pins from Oh setting up a grand finale in the position round match. It was down to the wire in the deciding match as only 36 pins separated the top 3.

"It feels good to win my fourth gold and also the fourth for my city, Daegu," said the 34-year-old champion. "I have been bowling great the whole week and this is probably my best outing in a competition.

Oh Young Gi settled for the silver medal with 3528 despite loosing the final match to Kim as Granger also lost to Jakarta's David Sitorus and was unable to improve his third place finish. Granger total 3470 to win the bronze medal with Sitorus in fourth with 3446.

Paranaque got a consolation for taking the overall men's champion without a single gold medal and only 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. They also finished third to the overall champion, Busan. Singapore was second.

A total of 72 men and 32 women from 18 cities competed in the week-long 21st edition of the immensely popular Asian Intercity championship. Macau will be the host for next year's championship.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

24th November, Jakarta: Singapore foiled Busan to scoring their fifth gold medal when Bernice Lim snatched the Women's Masters crown of the 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship from Jang Jee Hyang in the final position round match.

First block leader, Bernice Lim of Singapore immedaitely settled good pace with 210, 237, 195 and 212 winning two matches but was caught up and overtaken by Busan's Jang Jee Hyang at the halfway mark of the second block winning all her four matches.

Whilst Jang continued with 213, 205 and 222 winning yet another three matches, Bernice could only win two and lost one but crucially posted decently high games to stay 34 pins behind the Korean going into the final position-round match.

In the deciding match, it was the Singaporean youngster who looked calmer as Jang appeared to under pressure. Bernice double in the 4th and 5th frames and three strikes towards the end that seal the victory.

"I bowl well today and if I had not won, I'd have been disappointed," said Bernice, who will only turn 16 next month. "Indonesia is good to me, I seem to have the luck here," added the champion, who became the youngest-ever bowler to win this year's Indonesia Open Women's crown in August.

Busan's domination in the women's division finally ended after having captured 4 gold medal in the past 3 days. Jang Jee Hyang settled for the silver medal while her two other teammates, An Yu Ri took the bronze and Yoo Sung Hee finishing fourth.

Busan emerged as the women's champion with 4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze and two 4th placings on 33 points. Singapore took second spot with 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals on 12 points. Pasay finished third with 1 bronze and two 4th placings on just 4 points.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

23rd November, Jakarta: Singapore's Bernice Lim ended Busan's domination in the women's division by snatching the lead in the first block Masters finals of the 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship at Artha Gading Bowling Centre Friday evening.

As the women took to the lanes of their first block of 8 game round-robin matchplay, as expected, Busan's Park Eun Sun took an immediate lead from Singapore's Teo Li Ying in second. But the lead was quickly snatched up by four-gold medalist, Yoo Sung Hee of Busan with Jakarta's Go Lily in close company.

The lead changed hands again as another Busan women, Jang Jee Hyang shot to the front after three games but the lead was short-lived as Park regained the lead at the halfway mark by 18 pins from teammate, Jang.

Whilst the Korean girls were battling for the lead, Singapore's Bernice Lim, who did not have a great start, slowly gained momentum to draw closer to the four Koreans. Jang held the lead till game 7 but Bernice was right on her tail, 38 pin adrift.

An outstanding 223 and a win in the final game allowed Bernice to snatch the lead at the end of the block to finish with a total of 1742 abiet only winning 4 matches. Four Busan women took second to fifth spots behind the Singaporean youngster.

"I just could not get into my usual rythmn and when Francis pointed out what I was doing wrong, I immediately made the corrections and I was able to bowl better," said Bernice, who was the youngest-ever female to win the Indonesia Open Masters crown in August this year.

The women will continue their second block tomorrow (Saturday) morning before the men return to the lanes for their second block in the afternoon.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

23rd November, Jakarta: Lee Dong Hee of Pohang topped the Men's Masters first block finals of the 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship from Oh Young Gi of Uiwang in second and David Sitorus of Jakarta third.

Lee Dong Hee opened his campaign with a scorcher with 289 plus the 10 points for the win to take an early lead and a 45 pins margin. Despite a disasterous 165 in the second, the Korean continued to lead but saw his margin reduced to 14 pins from Singapore's Benjamin Lim.

The leader recovered to post 221 and 225 to maintain his lead with 28 pins at the halfway mark while Jakarta's David Sitorus made his challenge to take up second spot. Sitorus continued to make headway to snatch the lead after six games with Lee trailing by 13 pins.

While the Indonesian ran out of steam in the last two games, Lee took advantage of it to reclaim pole position and ending the first block of 8 games with a total of 1796 and 5 wins. Uiwang's Oh Young Gi stormed home to snatch second with 1756, just 10 pins adrift.

Brief leader, Sitorus settled for third spot on a total of 1724 winning 4 matches, same as second-place Oh. Last year's masters champion also made a late charge to take up fourth with 1757 with Benjamin finishing fifth on 1752.

With less than 40 pins separating the top 5, the coveted Masters champion crown is anybody's race. The men will continue their second block tomorrow while the women will commence their first block later today.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

22nd November, Jakarta: Busan bagged their third gold medal as they cruised to a comfortable victory in the Women's Team event in the 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship while Daegu won their second gold in the men's division.

First block leader, Busan stretched their lead at the start of the second block Team of 4 event in the afternoon opening up with a fourth game of 831 and 179 pins margin. An Yu Ri, Park Eun Sun, Jang Jee Hyang and anchored by two gold medalist, Yoo Sung Hee went on to increase their lead to 290 after the fifth game.

The Korean quartet ended the event to win their third gold medal of the championship with 4769 total. Yoo had won the Singles on opening day and the two Busan pairs of Yoo Sung Hee-Park Eun Sun and An Yu Ri-Jang Jee Hyang finished 1-2 in the doubles on day 2.

Singapore's Geraldine Ng, Teo Li Ying, Gina Lim and Bernice Lim, who were third in the first block finished strongly to snatch the silver medal from Taipei with 4470. Taipei settled for the bronze medal with 4420.

Daegu City displayed another convincing performance to cruise to victory in the Men's Team of 4 with 5029. Doubles gold medalist, Kim Young Pyo and Park Hee Jeong partnering Kim Jong Hyun and Lee Tae Ju stretched their lead from 148 pins after the first block to 310 in the opening second block.

The quartet went on to win their second gold medal with a margin of 247 ahead of the strong finishing Uiwang, who claimed their first medal in second spot. Kong Byoung-Hee, Won Jong-Yoon, Choi Won-Young and Oh Young-Gi totaled 4782 for the silver.

Paranaque's Sandy Cotoco, Johnson Cheng, Frank Russo and Purvis Granger pipped Tamuning and Singapore to clinch the bronze medal with 4768. The three cities were only seperated by less than 3 pins at the first block.

Yoo Sung Hee claimed her fourth and second individual gold medal when she finished top of the women's All Events standings with 3778. Her teammate, Park Eun Sun gave Busan another 1-2 finish after winning the silver with 3616. Pasay's Ditas Red took the bronze with 3611.

Daegu also won their third gold when Kim Young Pyo topped the men's All Events table with 3907 with Purvis Grander settling for another silver medal, 28 pins adrift on 3879 while Uiwang's Oh Young-Gi won the bronze with 3733.

Busan is well clear in the overall medal standings with 4 gold and 2 silver medals for 27 points. Singapore is second with 1 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze medals for 14 points. Despite not having won a gold yet, overall champion, Paranaque for 4 consecutive years is third with 3 silver and 1 bronze medal on 11 points.

Although Daegu has won 3 gold medals, as a guest city they are not entitled to earn points from the medals. The top 16 men and top 16 women will contest the masters finals over two blocks of 8 games on 23rd and 24th November.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

22nd November, Jakarta: With two gold medals already in the bag, Busan women proved too strong for the field to lead the Team of 4 first block on Day 3 of the 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship as Daegu City comfortably topped the men's division.

Taipei's Chen Chao Hsun, Chang Tsu Hwei, Chou Yueh Yun and Jen Yu Nan surprised the favourite, Busan when they took the lead at the opening game of the first block of Team event with 760. Busan's An Yu Ri, Park Eun Sun, Jang Jee Hyang and two gold medalist, Yoo Sung Hee trailed by 27 pins in second.

But the Korean quartet turned in an outstanding 810 to surge into the front by 3 pins after the second game as Taipei suffered a set back with just 690. Singapore's Geraldine Ng, Teo Li Ying, Gina Lim and Bernice Lim was a close third, 18 pins adrift.

Busan ended the first block with a convincing margin of 80 pins on a total of 2304 as Taipei fought back to retain second with 2224. Singapore finished third by a same margin of 18 pins adrift the Taiwanese on 2206.

Daegu's Kim Young Pyo, Kim Jong Hyun, Park Hee Jeong and Lee Tae Ju topped the first block with a commanding 148 pins margin. The foursome amassed a total of 2548 ahead of the strong finishing Tamuning.

Jay Leon Guerrero and JD Castro teaming up with doubles silver medalists, Elliot Aaron and Tagle Manny did well to finish stronger than the Singaporeans to clinch second position with 2400.

Singles gold medalist, Mark Wong led his teammates, Eugene Low, Chiam Yew Beng and Eugene Low to post 2379, 21 pins from second-placed Tamuning in third while favourites, Paranaque ended the block in fourth with 2378, just 1 pin adrift.

The second block of the Team event will continue with another 3 games to determine the winners. The top 16 men and top 16 women in the All Events standings will qualify for the Masters finals which will be staged on 23rd and 24th November.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

21st November, Jakarta: Squad A leader, Kim Young Pyo and Park Hee Jeong captured the first gold medal in the Men's Doubles event of the 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship for Daegu while Busan women finished 1-2 for the gold and silver medal.

Daegu's pair of Kim Young Pyo and Park Hee Jeong, who set the benchmark in Squad A with 2521, remained secure for the gold medal as Squad B completed their doubles in the evening of Day 2 of competition at Artha Gading Bowling Centre.

Kim posted the highest 6-game series of 1324 with his partner contributing a moderate 1197 for the victory. Daegu, who emerged Men's champion in the 2005 Jakarta Asian Intercity meet has scored again.

The silver and bronze medal also went to the second and third finisher in Squad A as the field in the second squad failed to make any headway as Tagle Manny and Elliot Aaron of Tamuning taking the silver with 2467.

Singles gold medalist, Mark Wong of Singapore, who partnered Benjamin Lim, settled for third with 2443. Victoria's Lau Kwun Ho and Michael Tsang Pak Kei finished fourth, just 8 pins adrift the Singapore pair.

Busan's second pair of An Yu Ri and Singles gold medalist, Yoo Sung Hee upstaged their fellow compatriots and Squad A leader, Jang Jee Hyang and Park Eun Sun to claim the gold medal with a total of 2489.

Jang and Park made it a 1-2 finish for Busan as the duo claimed the silver medal with 2448, 41 pins adrift their teammates. Singapore's Geraldine Ng and Bernice Lim, who was second in the first squad, settled for the bronze medal with 2395.

Pasay City's Angeli Lao and Ditas Red were pushed down one spot ending up in fourth on a total of 2359. After two events, two gold medalist, Yoo Sung Hee topped the All Events standings with 2552.

Singles silver medalist, Cecilia Yap of Paranaque City took second spot with 2490 while the consistent Pasay City youngster, Ditas Red finished third with 2484. Kim Young Pyo of Daegu led the Men's All Events with 2606, 67 pins clear of last year's Masters gold medalist, Purvis Granger in second with 2539.

Michael Tsang of Victoria took third spot with 2536 with Mark Wong of Singapore and Uiwang's Oh Young-Gi rounding up the top 5. The men and women will contest the Team of 4 events tomorrow, divided into two blocks of 3 games.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

21st November, Jakarta: Fresh from winning the Singles gold, Busan again showed their rowess as Jang Jee Hyang and Park Eun Sun topped the Women's Doubles first squad of the 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship as Daegu led the Men's division.

Singapore's Geraldine Ng and Bernice Lim opened accounts with 401 to lead the field in the first game but quickly dropped to third as Pasay's Angeli Lao and Ditas Red surged into the lead after the second game.

The Pasay duo continued to lead the field at the halfway mark with 1236 as Singapore recovered to trail the Filipinas by 21 pins. The Korean pair of Jang Jee Hyang and Park Eun Sun of Busan then stormed into the lead after the fourth game.

Singapore then picked up their pace to grab the lead, 20 pins ahead of Busan with the sixth and final game to go but a scintillating 452 by Busan saw them ending the squad in the lead with a total of 2448.

Jang amassed 1219 while her partner posted 1229. Geraldine and Bernice settled for second spot with 2395 ahead of early leader, Pasay finishing in third with 2359.

Over at the Men's side, Erick Ngo and William Wijaya of host city, Jakarta set a blistering pace to take the lead, 38 pins ahead of Singles gold medalist, Mark Wong and Benjamin Lim of Singapore after two games.

A strong 439 by the Singapore pair saw them taking over the lead, 50 pins clear of Jakarta while Daegu's Park Hee Jeong and Kim Young Pyo kept close with the leaders. An outstanding 491 posted by the Deagu's pair made them the new leader after three games.

Park and Kim went on to cruise to a comfortable lead on a total of 2521 and 55 pins clear of their closest opponent. Park shot 1197 while Kim was superb with 1324. Tamuning's Tagle Manny and lliot Aaron came from nowhere to snatch second with 2467.

Mark posted 1213 and Benjamin 1230 to settle for third spot with a total of 2443 while pace-setter, Jakarta dropped down to end the squad in fourth position on a total of 2373. Squad B will take to the lanes after the Singles medal presentation and lane maintenance.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

20th November, Jakarta: Squad A leader, Mark Wong of Singapore bagged the Men's Singles gold medal of the 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship while debutant, Yoo Sung Hee claimed the Women's Singles gold for Busan at the end of Day 1.

Singapore's national development squad member, Mark Wong had topped Squad A of the Men's Singles setting a benchmark of 1318 for Squad B to beat in the morning. Jakarta's William Wijaya and Hengky Susanto set a blistering pace to battle for the lead in the early stages.

As they moved into the second half of the 6-game event, it was Hengky who emerged as clear leader and had shot past Mark with 25 pins with the sixth and final game to play. It would have looked bleak for the 15-year-old Singaporean but the Indonesian could only post 198 in his crucial game ending up in third with 1295 total.

Last year's Masters gold medalist and ex-PBA bowler, Purvis Granger of Paranaque needed to strike out in his final frame to snatch the gold from Mark but again only managed a 9-pin to end the game with 234.

Granger amassed 1305, just 13 pins short of Mark's 1318 which allowed the youngster to secure the gold medal. "I wasn't around to watch what was going on in the second squad but was later told that I had won the gold," exclaimed the delighted Mark.

"Although Gina didn't win the gold, I'm still happy for both of us and proud to have won two medals on our first outing in this championship format," added Mark. "I had done all I can and in fact I managed a 700 series in the second half and I guess it just not enough," commented the American.

In the women's division, squad A leader, Gina Lim had to settle for the silver medal after she was overtaken by Yoo Sung Hee of Busan and season campaigner, Cecilia Yap of Paranaque in the second squad.

Yoo led throughout the second squad and except for the third game in which the Korean's 3-game total had fell short of Gina's by 26 pins, Yoo recovered to romp home with 234, 236 and 212 to cruise to a comfortable victory.

The champion totaled 1307 to win Busan's first gold of the championship as Cecilia claimed the silver medal with 1256. Gina's 1231 was only good enough for the bronze medal. Pasay City's Ditas Red, who was second in the first squad ended up in fourth with 1212.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

20th November, Jakarta: Singapore got off to a great start in the 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship in opening event as Mark Wong and Gina Lim led the Men's and Women's Singles Squad A at Artha Gading Bowling Centre.

National Development squad member, Mark Wong of Singapore, opened account with a superb 235 but trailed Daegu's Park Hee Jeong by just 2 pins. Another Korean from Daegu, Kim Young Pyo grabbed the lead with a scintillating 258 as Mark remained in second after another fine 220.

The Singaporean youngster then surged into the lead with a moderate 214 as Park could only managed 190 and Kim sufered a disasterous 159. Mark continued to post consistently with 195, 208 and rounded off with 246 to secure top spot with 1318.

"After the practice yesterday, I more or less knew what line I had to bowl but when we started this morning, the lane conditions were slightly different," said the 15-year-old Singapore Sports School student. "Fortunately, both Francis and Henry advised me to make some adjustments and it paid off.

Despite making a late charge, both Park and Kim settled for second and third with 1286 and 1282 respectively. Yoon Won Jung of Uiwang hit the tournament's first perfect 300 in the fifth game but ended up fifth behind Jakarta's David Sitorus finishing fourth on 1220.

Newly-crowned Singapore Open Youth Girl champion, Gina Lim gave Singapore plenty to be proud of in their first outing in championship format. The 16-year-old totaled 1231 in the 6-game singles event to top Squad A.

Gina, who will turn 17 next month, posted lines of 189, 199, 263, 204, 186 and 190 to lead Pasay City's Ditas Red by 19 pins. Ditas amassed 1212 thanks to a strong second half 3-game series of 209, 214 and 212.

Busan's Jang Jee Hyang and Park Eun Sun finished third and fourth positions with 1195 and 1181 respectively. Paranaque City's Yap Seok Kim and Jakarta's Ivana Hie rounded up the top 6.

Squad B for both the men and women will take to the lanes for their singles later today in which last year's Masters champion, Purvis Granger will be a strong contender for the top 3 positions.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

19th November, Jakarta: A colourful ceremony graced by the guest of honour, His Honourable, Mr. Taufik Yudi, representative of the Governor of the city of Jakata, marked the opening of the 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship on Monday eveing at Artha Gading Bowling Centre.

The elaborate and clockwork opening saw a total of ninteen cities participating at this year's championship. The teams paraded at the 30-lane Artha Gading Bowling Centre in front of distinguised guests, team officials and supporters followed by cultural dances.

Mr. Taufik Yudi, representing the Govenor of the city of Jakarta, delivered his speech during the opening procedings and declaring the championship opened. Earlier, Mr. Oki Harwanto, organizing co-chairman deliver his opening message thanking all teams for their participation.

Mr. Gordon Chu, Asian Intercity Bowling Council president, also gave an inspiring message to the officials and participating teams at the opening. The guests were entertained to a cultural dance called Kinang Kilara, a dance to express the "Spirit of Youth to Reach Success and Glory".

Eighteen men teams and eight women teams from ninteen cities have converged in Jakarta for the 21st running of the immensely popular championship which is hosted by the city of Jakarta. Hong Kong was to host this championship but instead handed the task to Jakarta.

The cities participating are Busan, Daegu, Pohang and Uiwang from Korea, Dededo and Tamuning from Guam, Happy Valley, Hong Kong and Victoria from Hong Kong, Paranaque City and Pasay City from the Philippines, Shah Alam and Melaka from Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Saipan, Singapore, Kepulauan Seribu and host Jakarta from Indonesia.

The guests, team officials and bowlers were then invited to a welcome reception hosted by the organizing committee at the "Side Wok" restaurant at the bowling centre.

The first event, Singles will be staged on Tuesday morning divided into two squads for both the men and the women division. The Doubles event will be held on Wednesday, 21st November and the Team of 4 on 22nd and 23rd November.

Photos by Terence Yaw and Daniel Winardi.

18th November, Jakarta: A total of ninteen cities will be vying for glory at the 21st Asian Intercity Bowling Championship which will commence fromn Monday onwards for the next seven days at Artha Gading Bowling Centre.

Eighteen men teams and eight women teams from ninteen cities have converged in Jakarta for the 21st running of the immensely popular championship which is hosted by the city of Jakarta. Hong Kong was to host this championship but instead handed the task to Jakarta.

The cities participating are Busan, Daegu, Pohang and Uiwang from Korea, Dededo and Tamuning from Guam, Happy Valley, Hong Kong and Victoria from Hong Kong, Paranaque City and Pasay City from the Philippines, Shah Alam and Melaka from Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Saipan, Singapore, Kepulauan Seribu and host Jakarta from Indonesia.

The team managers' meeting was held at the official hotel, Sheraton Media where the technical briefing to the managers were given by Mr Yap Kok Wee, the appointed technical delegate. The lane draws were also conducted for team's lane assignment for the Singles, Doubles and Team of 4 events.

The three events will be staged over three days at the end of which the top 16 men and top 16 women from the All Events standings will qualify for the two blocks of 8 games round-robin Masters finals to be held on the 24th November.

"We are extremely previledged to be given this opportunity to host the 21st Asian Intercity Championship for the second time in Jakarta," said Oki Harwanto, the tournament organizing co-chairman. "We hope that you will find this championship an enjoyable one and that we can serve your needs adequately while you are here.

Earlier in the day, the Asian Intercity Bowling Council held their executive committee meeting in which one of the main recommendations made and approved was the awarding of cash prizes to the medal winners.

AIBC will contribute a total of US$5,000 cash and the host city will contribute a minimum of another US$5,000 making a total of US$10,000 towards the cash prize awards. However, the host city may provide more than the minimum of US$5,000.

The cash prize awards will only commence from the 23rd running of the championship in 2009, which was awarded to the city of Pohang, Korea. Next year's championship will be staged in Macau, China. The 24th edition host city has also been awarded to the new city member, Melaka in 2010.

The AIBC General Assembly was held after the exco meeting and the assembly approved the minutes of the previous assembly as well as the accounts of AIBC. The meeting was chaired by the President of AIBC, Mr Gordon Chiu.

Official practices will commence on Monday 19th November divided into two squads, one at 1.30pm and the other at 4.00pm. The official opening ceremony will follow at 6.00pm graced by the governor of Jakarta. The guests, dignitaries, officials and participants will be invited to a welcome reception at Artha Gading Bowling Centre after the opening ceremony.

The first event, Singles will be staged on Tuesday morning divided into two squads for both the men and the women division. The Doubles event will be held on Wednesday, 21st November and the Team of 4 on 22nd and 23rd November.

Photos by Terence Yaw.