2nd March, Doha: 2018 World Youth Team gold medallist, Ghanim Aboujassoum led Qatari bowlers to dominate the opening squad of the PBA-WBT H.H. Emir Cup 2019 underway at Qatar International Bowling Centre on Saturday.
Two-time Penang Pesta International Open champion, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia set a cracking pace in his opening game with 257 to lead newcomer, Ahmed Al-Ruwaili of Qatar by 9 pins as two additional Qataris, Saoud Ahmad Abdulla and Nasser Jamal Al-Sahoti, kept pace with 235 and 224 for third and fourth spots respectively.
The Indonesian lost his lead with a moderate second game of 204 to trail another Qatari, Mohamed Jamal when the latter added 247 to his opening game of 215. Aboujassoum shot 237 in his second game to take up third, just 7 pins adrift.
Aboujassoum quickened his pace with another superb 244 in the third game to take over the running while Lalisang remained in second and Jamal slipped down to third. The Qatari youngster continnued his relentless pace with 232 and 257 in his next two games to extend his lead to 128 pins over his compatriot, Abdulrahman M Jaidah in second.
Ghanim Aboujassoum leading the opening squad after the firt block
2013 ABF Tour Egypt leg champion, Mansoor Al Awamy of Qatar leapfrog into third, a further 8 pins away with Nasser Jamal Al-Sahoti taking over fourth spot. Jamal and Lalisang followed in fifth and sixth positions respectively.
The leader eased off with 188 in his final game to win the first block of the opening squad with 1375. Abdulrahman settled for second with 1262, 113 pins adrift while Mansoor claimed third spot with 1255.
Nasser and Jamal completed Qatar's domination in fourth and fifth positions with 1250 and 1235 while early pace-setter, Lalisang ended in sixth with 1230. The 22 bowlers in Squad A will resume with their second block of six games tomorrow.
Players will bowl two blocks of six games in each of the Squads A, B, C and D. The top 8 local qualifiers will earn a bye and advance automatically to Step 2 finals. Qualifiers positioned 9 to 25 (17 players), top 3 qualifiers after the position 25 reserved for Qatari and 4 qualifiers from the one-game desperado squad will qualify for the six games Step 1 finals.
The top 12 finishers in Step 1 finals will be joined by the top 8 local qualifiers for another six games in Step 2 finals. The top 6 finishers after Step 2 finals will advance to Step 3. Finishers positioned 3 to 6 will bowl two games in Step 3 finals and the player with highest total pinfalls will advance to Step 4 finals facing the second seed from Step 2 over a two-game total pinfalls.
The winner of Step 4 finals will square off with the top seed from Step 2 finals over two-game total pinfalls for the title and the top prize of US$20,000. The champion will be awarded an international PBA title if he/she is a PBA member.
Squad B will be held over two days on March 4 and 5, Squad C on March 5 and 6 and the final Squad D on March 6 and 7. Step 1 finals will be contested on March 7 and Step 2 to 5 finals on March 8.
Photos by Terence Yaw in Doha, Qatar.
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• Squad A - Series 2
• Squad B - Series 1
• Squad B - Series 2
• Squad C - Series 1
• Squad C - Series 2
• Squad D - Series 1
• Squad D - Series 2
• Qualifying Standings
