11th June, Kuching: Team MMBC 1 from Penang captured the coveted special Sabati Cup held on the opening day of the Sarawak International Open Bowling Championships 2024 by a huge margin over Team Sunway Megalanes 4 in second and Hero Bowling in third.

MMBC got off the block with a stunning 277 opener in the team of 3 Baker's format event, 22 pins ahead of Chinese Taipei in second and Hero Bowling in third. The leader added another sizzling 268 in their second game to extend their lead to 42 pins.

Hero Bowling shot a superb 258 to move into second spot as the Taiwanese team stumbled to a lowly 137 to drop out of contention. Team Sunway Megalanes 1 moved up to third with 194 following up on their 243 in the opening game. There was no stopping MMBC 1 when they rolled an identical 268 in their third game to pull away with a 122 pin lead.

Despite ending the fourth game with 191, MMBC 1 went on to seal victory with 1004 total. Although Sunway Megalanes 4 and Hero Bowling ended with identical total of 922, Sunway Megalanes 4 clinched second position because of their higher final game of 246.

Hero Bowling settled for third position with a fourth game of 234. Sunway Megalanes 1, who was second at one stage, missed the podium to take up fourth with 895 while Sunway Megalanes 3 completed the top 5 with 863. Hero Bowling posted the highest 5th game with 265 to win the special prize of RM500. Sunway Megalanes 3 took the highest 6th game with 245 for another special prize of RM500.

The champion, MMBC 1 pocketed the top prize of RM2,000. The first and second runners-up took home RM1,000 and RM250 respectively. YAB Puan Sri Datuk Amar Hajah Juma'ani Binti Tun Tuanku Haji Bujang, President of Association of Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Sarawak was on hand to present the prizes to the winners.

The Guest of Honour also presented a cheque of RM8,000 donation to Wishland, the Ceremral Palsy Association, Sarawak accompanied by Mr Sunny Si, President of Amatuer Bowling Association of Sarawak (ABAS). A total of thirty teams took part in the special Sabati Cup.

The qualifying rounds for the Sarawak International Open will kick off tomorrow with the first block of four games, divided into four squads. Players will bowl two blocks of four games each over the next two days. The Youth U25 and Classified division Finals will be held on June 14 and the Mixed Open Finals on June 15.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuching, Sarawak.