31st October, Kuwait: World Championship Bronze medalist, Basil Al-Anzi emerged as Masters champion when he defeated topseed and compatriot, Jassem Darwish, 2-0 in an all-Kuwaiti finals of the 9th GCC Championship which ended on Friday evening.

Second-seed, Basil Al-Anzi finally nailed his first individual gold medal after having won two silver medals in the Singles and All Events to add to the gold he won in the Trios with Jassem Darwish and Khalid Al-Dubyyan earlier.

In the finals against topseed and younger teammate, the champion demonstrated his experience to take the first game, 194-174 and simply outclassed Jassem, 279-195 in the second game for a well deserved victory, 2-0 in the best-of-3 Masters finals.

"I knew that if I make the finals, I would stand a good chance to win my first gold medal," said the 28-year-old Basil when interviewed by Kuwait TV. "Jassem had bowled so well throughout the week and I knew I had to work extra hard to beat him.

"I'm very pleased with my performance in the championship and I'm glad I came off with my first individual gold medal. Although my arm hurt a little bit after the tough semi-finals against Abdulla Al-Qttan, I managed to urge myself to do my best.

"The boys have worked extremely hard and they know that this championship is improtant to them," said national coach, Patrick Healey Jr. "They totally deserve what they have won and achieve. I'm happy for them.

The champion reached the finals after ousting Qatar's Abdulla Al-Qattanm 2-0 in the semi-finals. Basil cruised through the quarter-finals with victory over seventh-seed, Naif Oqab of UAE, 2-0.

Jassem also had an easy victory over UAE's Saeed Obaid, 2-0 in the other semi but was pushed to the third game by eighth-seed, Abdulla Al-Jasaiman of Qatar, 2-1 in the quarter-finals.

Kuwait emerged as overall champion after winning 4 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze for a total of 10 medals. Qatar finished second with 1 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals. Bahrain finished third with 1 gold and 1 bronze medal.

Five Gulf countries, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and host, Kuwait took part in this week long championship. The top 16 in the Singles and All Events will earn Asian Ranking points toward the World Ranking Masters.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

30th October, Kuwait: Qatar finally nailed their first gold medal after starving off a final game challenge from host Kuwait to win by just 2 pins in the Team of 5 event of the 9th GCC Championship at Cozmo Bowl.

The Qatar team comprising of Abdulla Al-Qattan, Abdulla Al-Jasaiman, Mansour Al-Awami, Fahad Al-Emadi and anchored by Saeed Al-Hajri had a scintilating start in the opening game of the first block with 1134. Another two superb games of 1072 and 1059 had given the Qataris a comfortable lead of 107 pins at the end of the first block.

In the second block on long oil pattern, Qatar came under pressure from Kuwait in the fourth game but still kept a decent 111-pin margin. United Arab Emirates mounted their challenge to reduce the gap to 78 pins after the fifth game.

With the final game to decide the champion, Kuwait's awesome trio of

Basil Al-Anzi, Jassem Darwish, Khalid Al-Dubyyan togther with 14-year-old Ali Khalid and Mohammad Al-Rejeiba had ended their final game with a strong 1038.

It came down to the final frame where all the five bowlers could not afford an open frame. Both Al-Qattan and Al-Jasaiman had spared home. Mansour almost had a 4-10 split but pin 4 fell in the last minute to give the Qataris a sigh of relieve which he duly spared the frame.

Fahad Al-Emadi had a wash-out leaving pins 1-2-4-10. Fahad threw an incredible shot to pick up the seemingly difficult spare. And with anchorman, Saeed needing to strike out in the final frame, the tension was surely unbearable for the Qatar team.

To the delight of Saeed's teammates and officials, the veteran displayed nerves of steel to knock down a double strike and a 9-pin count to seal the victory by just 2 pins. Qatar amassed a total of 6190 to Kuwait's 6188 for a well deserved win.

"I knew I had to get a double strike to win and when I made my approach, I closed my eyes momentarily and pray that I'll make a good shot," said Saeed after the victory. "The team totally deserve this victory because they've bowl so well.

UAE failed in their bid to overcome the champion as well as fell away in their final game to settle for the bronze medal with a team total of 6103. Bahrain, who was fourth all the way, remained fourth after totaling 5963.

Singles and Trios gold medalist, Jassem Darwish claimed his third gold and second individual gold medal after overhauling his teammate, Basil Al-Anzi in the second block of the team event to win the All Events gold medal with 5307.

Basil, who was leading by 44 pins before the team second block, settled for his second silver medal with 5291, just 16 pins from Jassem. Qatar's Abdulla Al-Qattan took the bronze medal with 5235.

After five events, Kuwait leads the medal tally with 3 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals with Qatar in second with 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze. Bahrain, with 1 Gold and 1 Bronze is third. Only two bowlers from each country based on the All Events standings qualified for the eight places in the best-of-3 Masters elimination rounds tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

29th October, Kuwait: After drawing blank on day 2, Kuwait rebounded when Basil Al-Anzi, Jassem Darwish and Khalid Al-Dubyyan cruised to a comfortable victory in the Trios event of the 9th GCC Championship while their other trio took the bronze medal.

The Kuwaiti trio of Jassem Darwish, Basil Al-Anzi and Khalid Al-Dubyyan, who dominated the opening Singles event with a clean sweep of the medals, joined forces to cruise to an comfortable victory to claim Kuwait's second gold of the championship.

After a dream start in their campaign on the opening day, Kuwait drew blank in the doubles event but rebounded today with another scintilating performance to win with a team total of 4036.

Basil posted the highest 6-game score of 1452 as Jassem and Khalid were equally impressive with totals of 1293 and 1291 respectively. Kuwait's other trio of Ali Khalid, Mohammed Khalid and Mohamad Al-Rejeiba stormed home to clinch the bronze medal with 3703.

Qatar's Abdulla Al-Qattan, Abdulla Al-Jasaiman and Saeed Al-Hajri, who had trailed the champion after the 3-games over long oil pattern in the first block, ended in second to take home the silver medal with 3784, 252 pins adrift.

UAE's doubles silver medalist of Saeed Obaid and Hussain Al-Suwaidi teamed up with Mahmood Al-Attar and who was at one stage in with a shot at a medal, fell off the pace to end up fourth with 3646.

"We knew that if we can have a decent score on the long oil pattern in the first block, we would have a good chance of winning a medal on our stronger short oil pattern in the second block," said Basil Al-Anzi when interviewed by Kuwait TV.

"To have a 130 pins cushion was fantastic and it took the pressure a little bit," said the 22-year-old Khalid Al-Dubyyan after the victory. "Jassem bowled well but Basil was just great.

"When our boys bowled bad in the doubles event, I told them to forget it and start fresh today," said Sheikh Talal, the president of Kuwait Bowling Federation and the Asian Bowling Federation.

"I knew that if they concentrate hard enough, they will win. But I'm most happy for the other team which consisted on 14-year-old Ali Khalid, 16-year-old Mohammad Khalid and a 33-year-old Mohamad Al-Rejeiba.

After three events, Basil Al-Anzi of Kuwait topped the All Events standings with 4012 to lead overnight leader and compatriot, Jassem Darwish in second with 3939. Abdulla Al-Qattan took third spot with 3903.

Competition resumes with the Team of 5 event over two blocks of 3 games on short and long oil pattern Thursday. The top 8 based on the 24-game All Events standings will advance to the best-of-3 Masters elimination rounds for the final medal.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

28th October, Kuwait: Bahrain's Sami Noor and Yusif Falah upstaged favourites to capture the Doubles gold medal of the 9th GCC Championship with compatriots, Osama Khalfan and Ahmed Al-Bastaki winning the bronze.

A near perfect game from Ahmed Al-Bastaki of 299 in the opening game and a 190 from his partner, Osama Khalfan gave the Bahrainian second pair a hefty lead of 66 pins ahead of teammates, Sami Noor and Yusif Falah in second.

A strong 465 from UAE's Saeed Obaid and Asian Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi elevated the pair into second and narrowing the gap from leader Bahrain after the second game. But a lowly 365 from Osama-Ahmed allowed the first pair of Sami-Yusif to take over the running at the halfway mark after a strong 482.

From then on, Sami and Yusif kept their strong pace to cruise home to victory with a total of 2613. Saeed and Hussain's fifth and sixth games of 478 and 405 won them the silver medal with 2562.

Early leader, who had dropped out of contention before the final game, rebounded to clinch the bronze medal with 2543. Qatar's Abdulla Al-Qattan and Saeed Al-Hajri fumbled in their final game to miss out a medal in fourth with 2462.

"We've won medals in previous GCC championships but today's victory is sweet as we've beaten a stronger field," said the 23-year-old Sami Noor. "But I've to thank my partner, who bowled much better than me.

"We were a bit worried after the fifth game when Qatar closed the gap, but I'm glad I bowled a good final game to give us this victory," exclaimed the 24-year-old lanky Yusif Falah. "We've to thank our coach who has guided us to this win."

Yusif's 1396 in the Doubles event has propelled the Bahrainian into pole position in the All Events table on a 12-game total of 2679. Singles gold medalist, Jassem Darwish and UAE's Saeed Obaid are a close second and third.

The bowlers will return to Cozmo Bowl on Wednesday for their Trios event to be contested over two blocks of 3 games on short oil pattern in the first block and long oil pattern in the second block.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

27th October, Kuwait: Host nation, Kuwait had a dream start to their 9th GCC Championship campaign as Jassem Darwish, Basil Al-Anzi and Khalid Al-Dubyyan dominated the Singles event by sweeping all three medals.

Jassem Darwish, who was trailing leader, Khalid Al-Dubyyan by 10 pins going into the sixth and final game, overhauled his more senior teammate with a scintillating 266 in the final game to snatch the Singles gold medal with a total of 1416.

Khalid had a cracking start with a 253 opening game to lead Bahrain's Yusif Falah and Saudi Arabia's Abdulla Bin Ahmad Lafi by 16 pins. Despite shooting another superb 259 in the second game, Jassem's near perfect game of 299 saw Khalid leading only by 2 pins from his compatriot.

The leader stretched his lead at the halfway mark by 27 pins with another teammate, Basil Al-Anzi taking over second spot from Jassem after the latter's poor 170 in the third game. Although Khalid lost the lead after the

fourth game, he regained pole with 238 in his fifth game as Jassem rebounded to re-take second spot.

It was down to the wire amongst the Kuwaiti trio and Jassem stormed home with 266 to snatch the gold medal while Basil posted 269 to claim the silver medal with 1381. Pace-setter, Khalid gave Kuwait a clean sweep as he took the bronze medal with 1354.

"This is my first individual gold medal and I'm very happy," said the delighted Jassem. "My ball was reacting too fast during the third game and my coach asked me to try my urethane ball in my bonus frame of the third game and I felt comfortable with it.

"So I managed to crawl back with the last two games to win the gold medal," added the champion. "I've to thank my coach, my dad and our President for giving encouragement to me throughout the 6 games.

"I had a bad game in the fourth which dropped me to about fifth or sixth position," said the World Men's Championship bronze medalist, Basil Al-Anzi. "I thought I was out of a medal but luckily, I came back strong in the final two games to win the silver.

"Although I was beaten to the gold medal, I'm still happy because I lost to my teammates who finished much stronger than me," said the 2006 World Ranking Masters champion, Khalid Al-Dubyyan. "I'm also very happy for my country and to win the bronze medal.

Competition resumes tomorrow afternoon with the Doubles event over the long oil pattern and judging by Kuwaiti bowlers form, they will be the one to beat.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

26th October, Kuwait: A lavish ceremony was held at Ice Skating stadium in downtown Kuwait City to mark the opening of the 9th GCC Championship in the presence of government dignitaries and distinguished guests on Sunday evenng.

The guest of honour, Mr Bader Fahad Al-Duwaila, Minister of Labour & Social Affairs and the Advisor to the Prime Minister, was on hand to witness five participating teams which paraded on stage.

Also present was Mr Abdulla Yousif Al-Dosary, GCC Bowling Committee Chairman, Princes Naima Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, sister of the Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Saad, Dr Ibrahim Al-Juraifani, President of Saudi Bowling Federation, Mr Sheikh Talal Al-Sabah, President of ABF and Kuwait Bowling Federation and numerous distinguished guests.

Mr Sheikh Talal Al-Sabah addressed guests in his welcomng speech and thanked the guest of honour, Mr Bader Fahad Al-Duwaila for taking time off to officially open the championship. Mr Abdulla Yousif Al-Dosary also

addressed the opening by thanking Kuwait Bowling Federation to hosting the 9th edition of the Gulf countries for this bowling championship.

The guests were entertained by a renowned violinist from Lebanon, Miss Vanessa Nasser, who gave a superb performance together with Kuwaiti drummers. The immensely popular singng duo from Kuwait, the Miami Duo accompanied the young school girls from the Kuwaiti Cultural Dancing Group which followed after.

The guest of honour then declared the championship open followed with a grand finale with the fireworks. The championship will commence proper with the Singles event on Monday afternoon.

Five events will be contested covering the Singles, Doubles, Trios, Team of 5 and the Masters. The best-scoring 8 men in the 24-games All Events standings will advance into the best-of-3 Masters elimination rounds where the topseed will meet the lowest seed, the second with the seventh seed and so on.

The winners will advance into the semi-finals and finally the title match to determine the champion of the Masters finals. The losing semi-finalists will take a bronze medal each. The championship is also an Asian Ranking tournament and points for Singles and All EVents will be awarded.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.

25th October, Kuwait: A total of 30 bowlers from 5 Gulf nations will be vying for glory at the 9th GCC Championship which will kick off at Cosmoz Bowl in Salmiya City in Kuwait on Monday.

Managers and officials of the 5 nations, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and host, Kuwait gathered at the Holiday Inn in Salmiya City for the Team Managers' meeting on Saturday evening.

Mr Sheikh Talal Al-Sabah, President of the Asian Bowling Federation and host nation, Kuwait Bowling Federation, welcomed the officials before handing over to Dr. Danny Santos, Technical Delegate and Vice President of ABF assisted by two technical officials, Mr Ahmed Aqeel of Bahrain and Mohammed Al-Kaabi of Qatar.

The 30 bowlers will have their official practice on Sunday morning after which later in the evening, the official opening ceremony will take place at Cosmoz Bowling Centre.

The week-long tournament will begin with the Singles on Monday over long oil pattern, Doubles on Tuesday over the short oil pattern, two blocks of 3 games each over short and long oil on Wednesday and finally another two blocks of 3 games each over long and short oil.

The best-scoring 8 men in the 24-games All Events standings will advance into the best-of-3 Masters elimination rounds where the topseed will meet the lowest seed, the second with the seventh seed and so on.

The winners will advance into the semi-finals and finally the title match to determine the champion of the Masters finals. The losing semi-finalists will take a bronze medal each. The championship is also an Asian Ranking tournament and points for Singles and All EVents will be awarded.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuwait.