26th November, Hong Kong: Topseed, Biboy Rivera of the Philippines and Putty Armein of Indonesia were crowned 30th Hong Kong International Open champions which concluded at SCAA Bowling Centre this afternoon.

Rivera edged defending champion and challenger, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong 233-212 to earn a well deserved win while ABF Tour Indonesia leg champion, Putty Armein defeated topseed Liza Clutario 229/233 - 180/191 over two matches.

It has been a long overdue win for the 30-year-old businessman from Manila. His previous best effort was finishing third in the 2003 Super Classic in Singapore. Wu, who had a large crowd cheering him on during the deciding match, could do nothing as the champion was on a hot streak. Wu settled for second despite knocking out second-seed Aaron Kong of Malaysia and Alvin Kwang of Singapore 244-203-192.

The runner-up, who finished fourth in the second block finals, also defeated fifth-seed Remy Ong of Singapore and Joonee Gatchalian Jr. of the Philippines 238-170-235 in the first stepladder match.

Liza Clutario almost gave Philippines a double celebration but found the in-form Putty Armein unstoppable. The topseed was forced into a sudden-death match after she lost to Armein 180-229 in the first match. In the deciding match, Armein never gave Clutario any chance at all to stage a comeback and easily won 233-191 to capture her second consecutive title.

The champion, who was third-seeded, knocked out second-seed, Sarah Yap of Malaysia and winner of the women's first stepladder match, Zhang Chun Li 215-186-191 in the second match. Clutario settled for second while Yap finished third.

Zhang, who took the first match by beating defending champion, Wendy Chai of Malaysia and fifth-seed Liza Del Rosario, 257-194-194, settled for fourth position while Chai and Rosario were contented with fifth and sixth.

The top 16 Asian bowlers qualified for tomorrow's ABF Tour Hong Kong leg, which is the final leg of this year's highly successful bowling tour initiated by Asian Bowling Federation. The preliminary rounds, semifinal and final matches will be telecast LIVE on Malaysia's Astro Supersport and Singapore's Starhub starting 1400 hrs (Hong Kong/Singapore time).

Photos courtesy of Keith Hale, Bowlers' Journal International.

26th November, Hong Kong: Filipinos Biboy Rivera and Liza Clutario dominated the Men's and Women's second block Masters finals of the 30th Hong Kong International Open this morning at SCAA Bowling Centre.

Although the first block leader only managed 1744 in his second block as opposed to a superb first block total of 1853, Rivera remained top at the end with a grand total of 3597.

The biggest mover today was 19 year-old Aaron Kong of Malaysia storming into snatch second spot with 3478. Kong, who was 13th yesterday, scored the highest 8-game series of 1831 to finish ahead of Singapore's Alvin Kwang in third with 3454.

Defending champion, Wu Siu Hong remained in fourth from the two blocks with 3453, just 1 pin from Kong with Singapore's Remy Ong dropping to fifth with 3448. The final stepladder spot went to Philippines Open champion, Joonee Gatchalian Jr. with 3389.

In the women's division, 2003 World Championship Gold medalist, Liza Clutario gave Philippines a double topseed finish when she overtook overnight leader, Sarah Yap of Malaysia at the halfway mark of the second block. The Filipina went on to claim topseed at the end of the finals with 3334.

2003 Philippines Open champion Sarah Yap, who was dropped from the Malaysian team which competed in the World Tenpin Team Cup in Holland last week, settled for second with 3307 while ABF Tour Indonesia leg champion, Putty Armein finished third with 3276.

Singapore and Indonesia Open Champion, Liza Del Rosario took fourth spot as the second Filipino to make the stepladder finals with 3270.

Defending champion, Wendy Chai of Malaysia, who rushed to Hong Kong after the Team Cup competition in Hoofddorp for the finals, had finished a disappointing 17th yesterday. But she soon recovered and was awesome today to finished fifth with 3166 joining teammate, Yap for the stepladder. Last spot went to newcomer, Zhang Chun Li of China.

The men's and women's first stepladder matches amongst fourth, fifth and sixth-seeds will commence after lunch break and lane maintenance. The winner of the first matches will meet the second and third-seeds for a second match. The champion will be decided between the top-seed and the winner of the second matches.

The top 16 Asian bowlers qualified for tomorrow's ABF Tour Hong Kong leg, which is the final leg of this year's highly successful bowling tour initiated by Asian Bowling Federation. The preliminary rounds, semifinal and final matches will be telecast LIVE on Malaysia's Astro Supersport and Singapore's Starhub starting 1400 hrs (Hong Kong/Singapore time).

Photos courtesy of Keith Hale, Bowlers' Journal International.

25th November, Hong Kong: Korea's Choi Bok-Eum, who missed the Open Masters finals for checking-in late, had a consolation win in the 30th Hong Kong International Open Youth Masters finals late this evening.

The Asian Championship Gold medalist, who thought the Men's Open Masters finals was due to start at 3.00pm, checked-in late and missed the finals and a chance to qualify for the ABF Tour Hong Kong leg.

The 17-year-old high school student fro Yeosu City made amends and console himself by winning the Youth Masters with a score of 2100 over the 10-game finals. Chinese Taipei's Ernie Cheng, who led for the fisrt six games of the finals, settled for second, 38 pins behind the champion with 2062.

Malaysia's Syafiq Ridhwan did well in his second international outing to finish third with 1985 ahead of the best of the local youths, Eric Tseng in fourth place with 1929 with another Malaysian youth, Fahmi Bahri in fifth with 1912.

"We thought the Open Masters finals was scheduled to start at 3.00pm so we arrive a little more than half-an-hour to check in but was told that the finals was in fact starting at 2.30pm so I was 15 minutes late," said the disappointed Choi through an interpreter. "I'm not so sad now after winning the Youth Masters," added the champion.

Photos courtesy of Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress.

25th November, Hong Kong: Filipino Biboy Rivera and Malaysia's Sarah Yap snatched the lead of the Men's and Women's first block Masters finals of the 30th Hong Kong International Open at SCAA Bowling Center this evening.

Rivera, the 30-year-old businessman from Manila started the men's first block of 8-games finals with 6 pin lead over Singapore's AMF World Cup representative, Remy Ong after two games. The leader continued his momentum into the halfway mark with Ong in hot pursuit trailing only by 35 pins.

Two strong games of 235 and 237 saw the Filipino stretching his lead to 109 pins by the end of the first block. The leader had lines of 198, 257, 201, 256, 223 and 246 in the first six games and eventually totalled 1853 for the top spot. Another Filipino, Joonee Gatchalian stormed into the picture to take second spot on 1744 while Qatar Open and Guam Open champion, Remy Ong who was third throughout the first block, remained in third with 1740.

Defending champion, Wu Siu Hong kept in close contact with the leaders finishing fourth, just 3 pins behind Ong on 1735 followed by Philippines' AMF World Cup representative, Chester King in fifth position with 1722.

In the women's division, Filipinas Liza Del Rosario and Liza Clutario were dominant in the early stages with Clutario taking the lead after the second game. Hong Kong's Vanessa Fung took the lead briefly after the fourth game but Rosario shot to the front at the fifth to lead Clutario by 2 pins.

Clutario, the 2003 World Championship Gold medalist soon regain the lead from game sixth onwards with Malaysia's Sarah Yap closing in on the leaders. A final game of 234 saw the Philippines Open champion, Yap snatching the lead with a final total of 1682, 30 pins clear of Clutario on 1652. Rosario settled for third with 1625.

Vanessa Fung finished fourth with 1618 ahead of ABF Tour Philippines leg champion, Irene Benitez in fifth spot with 1607. ABF Tour Indonesia leg champion, Putty Armein took sixth place with 1597.

Defending champion Wendy Chai of Malaysia must have failed to recover from her jet-lag rushing over from Holland after the World Tenpin Team Cup and finished a disappointing 17th.

Both the men and women will completed their finals with another 8-games in the second block tomorrow (26th November). The top 6 from each division will make the cut for the stepladder finals to determine this year's champion. The top 16 Asian bowlers will qualify for the final leg of the ABF Tour Hong Kong scheduled for Saturday, 27th November and a chance to make the ABF Tour Tournament of Champions by finishing in the top 16 based on ranking points earned from the six legs held this year.

Photos courtesy of Hong Kong Tenpin Bowling Congress.

24th November, Hong Kong: The lead in the Men's Open division of the 30th Hong Kong International Open Bowling Championship remained unchallenged on the final day of qualifying at SCAA Bowling Centre.

Asian Championship Gold medalist, Choi Bok-Eum, who scored the only perfect game so far, still leading the men's table with 2003 Santa Claus Open champion, Mohd Nadri of Malaysia improving to second and Filipino, Chester King in third.

The 17-year-old High School student from Yeosu City continued to lead the overseas table of the Men's Open Masters with 994 ahead of another youngster, 18-year-old Mohd Nadri in second with 971. Philippine's AMF World Cup representative dropped one rung to third with 961.

Qatar's Mubarak Al-Murikhi also improved to take up fourth position with 953 with this year's Philippines Open champion, Joonee Gatchalian of the Philippines in fifth on 953. 2003 Malaysian National champion, Jonathan Lim scored 952 and took up sixth spot.

Singapore's Alvin Kwang, who scored a perfect game in the 2002 Hong Kong Open, moved up to seventh with 947 followed by ABF Tour Malaysia leg champion, Ryan Lalisang in eight with 936.

Meanwhile, ex-international Chiang Kwok Fai maintained his lead in the local table and overall leader with 1000 scored three days ago. Chung Him and Rocky Hui au Kai occupied second and third positions with 950 and 940.

Hong Kong's top national bowler, Wu Siu Hong will be defending the title he won last year. The 20-year-old 2003 Asian Ranked No. 1 will be hoping to make the ABF Tour Hong Kong leg on home ground and making amends for loosing to Qatar's Shaker Al-Hassan in the Indonesia leg last month.

Singapore and Indonesia Open champion, Liza Del Rosario of the Philippinesm continued to top the the women's table with 922 with Korea's Kim Eun Joung in second with 905. ABF Tour Indonesia leg champion, Putty Armein of Indonesia improved with 900 to take up third spot.

2003 PBAP Classic champion, Tang Joh Six of Malaysia dropped one position to fourth with 893 while newly-crowned Guam Open champion, Evelyn Chan was fifth with 892. ABF Tour Philippines leg champion, Irene Benitez of the Philippines and Singapore's Jennifer Tan occupied sixth and seventh with 889 and 886 respectively.

Malaysia's Syqfiq Ridhwan took the lead in the Youth division overseas pool, with 864 dislodging overnight leader, Choi Bok-Eum of Korea in second spot with 860 while Chinese Taipei's Ernie Cheng finished third with 845.

Qualifying ends this evening where and the top 32 men plus defending champion and top 23 plus defending champion will qualify for the Open Masters to be played over two blocks of 8 games on the 25th and 26th November. The top 16 Asian bowlers at the end of the finals will make the cut for the final leg of the ABF Tour Hong Kong on the 27th November which will be telecast LIVE at 2.00pm (Hong Kong/Singapore time) over Malaysia's Astro Supersport and Singapore's Starhub.

Photos courtesy of HKTBC and PBI.

23rd November, Hong Kong: Asian Championship Gold medalist, Choi Bok-Eum of Korea topped the Men's Open Masters overseas qualifying table of the 30th Hong Kong International Open Bowling Championship while Filipina Liza Del Rosario grabbed the lead in the women's division.

Choi, from Yeosu City knocked down 922 over his four-game qualifying round to top the Men's overseas table while newly-crowned, Indonesia Open champion, Liza Del Rosario topped the women's table with an identical score of 922.

The 17-year-old high school student, who also topped the Youth Masters qualifying table with 860 yesterday, led Philippines' representative to the 40th AMF World Cup next month, Chester King with 961. This year's Philippines Open champion, Joone Gatchalian claimed third spot with 953.

Newly-crowed 3rd Guam International Open champion, Remy Ong of Singapore, finished fifth on his first attempt with 925 while China's Feng Xiao Bing took up the top 5 with 912.

Ex-international, Chiang Kwok Fai of Hong Kong maintained his pole position in the local pool with a score of 1000 with Chung Him taking over second spot with 950 followed by Rocky Hui Mau Kai in third with 940.

In the women's division, this year's Singapore Open and Indonesia Open champion, was on a roll kncoking down 922 to take over the top spot in the overseas and overall Masters qualifying table. The 27-year-old from Quezon City will be going for a hattrick of wins when the Masters finals takes place on Thursday, 25th November.

Korea's Kim Eum Joung occupied second spot with 905 ahead of 2003 PBAP Classic champion, Tang Joh Six of Malaysia in third with 893. Newly-crowned Guam Open champion, Evelyn Chan of Singapore, took up fourth position, just 1 pin from Tang on 892 ahead of compatrait, Jennifer Tan in fifth place with 886.

Hong Kong's Kylie Lui Mei Yan continued to occupy top spot in the local pool with 883 followed by two ex-internationals, Janet Lam Yim and Cookie Lee in

second and third positions with 861 and 859 respectively. ABF Tour Indonesia leg chapion, Putty Armein topped the mixed pool with 810 ahead of this year's Philippines Open champion, Sarah Yap of Malaysia in second and Hong Kong's Choi Miu Cheng in third.

The top 32 men plus defending champion, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong and top 23 plus defending champion, Wendy Chai of Malaysia will qualify for the Open Masters to be played over two blocks of 8 games on the 25th and 26th November. The top 16 Asian bowlers at the end of the finals will make the cut for the final leg of the ABF Tour Hong Kong on the 27th November which will be telecast LIVE at 2.00pm (Hong Kong/Singapore time) over Malaysia's Astro Supersport and Singapore's Starhub.

Photos courtesy of Sidney Tung, MTBC and Keith Hale, Bowlers' Journal International.

22nd November, Hong Kong: Local bowlers got the 30th Hong Kong International Open Bowling Championship underway by occupying the top spots of the Men's and Women's Open Masters qualifying table at SCAA Bowling Centre.

Ex-international, Chiang Kwok Fai became the first bowler to hit 1000 over the 4-games qualifying round to top the local and overall Men's Open Masters qualifying table.

Chiang led fellow-countryman, Chung Him by 50 pins, who knocked down 950 to take up second spot while Hui Chi Ho finished third with a score of 928. Kin Lo and Junie Wong occupied fourth and fifth positions with 921 and 863 respectively.

Before most of the overseas bowlers from around Asian arrive and take to the lanes for their qualifying rounds, most of the positions in the overseas pool were occupied by bowlers from Macau. Cheng Peng Sheng topped table with a score of 835 followed by Sou Wai Chon in second with 834 while Lou Peng Kei was third with 806.

In the women's division, Kylie Lui Mei Yan of Hong Kong took pole in the local pool with 883 ahead of ex-internationals, Cookie Lee in second with 859 and Janet Lam Yim in third with 858. Macau's Chan Pui Cheng topped the overseas pool with 796 with China's Lynn Wu Yan Ling in second with 774. Third position went to Alexandra Foo of Macau with 772.

Asian Championship Gold medalist, Choi Bok Eum of Korea were the only two overseas bowlers in the youth division to have made their qualifying attempts. Choi topped the overseas pool with 860 while China's William Yang took up second spot with 762.

Local lad, Rick Ng Kwun Ting impressed with 977 to occupy pole in the local pool with Jimmy Li Chun Kit in second with 899 and Micahel Tsang Pak Kei in third.

Most of Asia's best bowlers are competing in the 6th World Tenpin Team Cup being held in Hoofddorp, Netherlands and will miss the Hong Kong Open. These include Asian Ranked No. 1, Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia, Ahmed Shaheen of Qatar, Asian Championship two Gold medalists, Wu Hao-Ming and Kao ai-Yuan of Chinese Taipei.

However, a large contingent of bowlers from the Philippines, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia will compete in this year's championship and a last chance to make the top 16 qualifiers of the ABF Tour's Tournament of Champions by making the cut for the ABF Tour Hong Kong leg scheduled for the 27th November immediately after the Masters finals on the 25th and 26th November.

Photos courtesy of MTBC.