1st April, Manila: Two-time Malaysian National Champion, Adrian Ang edged challenger, Cherie Tan of Singapore in the deciding stepladder match, 253-220 to capture the 5th Euro-Med Storm International Masters Challenge which concluded Sunday afternoon.

Ang, who had so far only won an individual international title after bagging the Milo International Junior All Stars crown in 2003, also gave Malaysia its first victory on the Euro-Med series.

An open frame in the seventh frame and a split in the ninth frame allowed his opponent to take the first match forcing the 19-year-old to go into the second deciding match after loosing the first to Cherie Tan, 179-239. But Ang got his composure back to start off the second match with a double strike and then brought home six strikes in a row to finish with 253.

Tan could not repeat the form she displayed in the first match but still went down fighting to finish with 212 plus 8 pin handicap for 220. The champion took home Peso 1 million while Tan won Peso 500,000.

The runner-up and third-seed had earlier, outclassed another Malaysian, Zulmazran Zulkifli, 287-228 in the first stepladder match before knocking out second-seed, Jason Belmonte of Australia, 230-212 in the second match to reach the finals.

Cherie also topped the Stage 2 finals bowled in the morning with 2034 ahead of Zulmazran Zulkifli in second with 2033. Belmonte, Adrian Ang, Sabrina Lim of Singapore, Cecilia Yap of the Philippines, Kim Byeong Hak of Korea and Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines made the Stage 3 round-robin finals from third to eighth positions.

Stage 1 leader, Aaron Kong of Malaysia missed the cut finishing ninth with favourite, Shalin Zulkifli and Jong Kong's Cyrus Cheung in tenth and 11th respectively. Tim Mack and double perfect gamer, Purvis Granger of USA both failed to impress ending up in 18th and 21st positions.

Photos by Cheah Ban Cheng, MTBC.

31st March, Manila: Malaysian national elite squad member, Aaron Kong was in sensational form as he sizzled the lanes at Pearl Bowling Center to lead Stage 1 finals of the 5th Euro-Med Storm International Masters Challenge Saturday afternoon.

Former World Bowler of the Year, Shalin Zulkifli of Pin Junction, Malaysia took an early lead with a 269 opener from Chinese Taipei's Wang Tien Fu just 3 pins adrift. Korea's Kim Byeong Yeol, who rolled the tournament's seventh perfect game and fellow compatriot, Gu Yong Jin shared the lead after the second game.

Kim then drew away from the third game but had to share the lead again at the halfway mark with Hong Kong's Cyrus Cheung. A 269 and 259 from Malaysia's Aaron Kong saw the 22-year-old taking over the lead from the strong Filipino veteran, Paeng Nepomuceno closely behind by only 11 pins.

The Malaysian lost the lead briefly to the Filipino at the seventh game but only by 3 pins. With a final game of 237, Kong was able to regain the lead to end Stage 1 of 8 games with a total of 1941. Cyrus Cheng finished strongly with 289 to snatch second spot with 1935.

Kim Byeong Yeol also finished strongly with 266 to take up third spot with 1929 leaving Paeng settling for fourth position on a total of 1923. Canon Cup 2007 champion, Jason Belmonte of Australia took fifth spot with 1899.

Early pace-setter and scorer of the tournament's third perfect game, Shalin became the best female finisher in sixth position with 1831 while Singapore's best performer and another female was Jasmine Yeong-Nathan in seventh with 1827.

Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia sneaked into the next stage at 1777, just 7 pins ahead of Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang and Guam Jay Leon Guerrero missing the cut. With only 32 separating the top 5, the field looked wide open as the top 24, who made the cut for Stage 2, battle it out for another 8 games starting from scratch on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, Stewart Chua of the Philippines, averaged 238 scratch over 10 games to win Peso 100,000 and the title of the Bevida-Storm Challenge earlier in the morning. Chua's 2403 was 49 pins ahead of Orlie Estrabo, who settled for second with 2354.

Jay Carabeo gave Philippines the top 3 position when he picked up third spot with 2317 followed by Thailand's Tanupol Puangmalee and Rainer Pasquin of the Philippines rounding up the top 5 with 2260 and 2249 respectively.

The top 24 bowlers will proceed to the Stage 2 finals tomorrow, Sunday 1st April for another 8 games during which the top 8 will make the cut for the round-robin finals. At the end of the finals, the top 4 will move on to the stepladder grand finals.

Photos by B.C. Cheah and courtesy of PBAP-Bowlmart.

28th March, Manila: A perfect game moved Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia to the top of the qualifying leaderboard of the 5th Euro-Med Storm International Masters Challenge as she celebrated her birthday at Pearl Bowling Centre.

Shalin, who turned 29 today, astonished bowlers and spectators as she kept rolling strikes and dominated all her male counterparts to post the first perfect game by a female bowler. Shalin's perfect game was the tournament's third after Purvis Granger rolled back-to-back perfect games on Day 1.

The former World Bowler of the Year knocked down 225, 287 and 268 in her first best series and using her Storm Speacial Agent, Shalin brought home 200, the magical 300 followed by 259 for a 6-game total of 1609 to move to the top of the qualifying leaderboard and also smashed Granger's 1541 highest series.

Malaysian bowlers also put in an impressive showing when Adrian Ang rolled 1510 and 2005 Asian ranked No. 1, Alex Liew bowled 1477. Ang and

Liew joined Purvis Granger, Cecilia Yap, Paeng Nepomuceno, Kim Young Pil, Markwin Tee, Wu Siu Hong, Ryan Lalisang and Kim Byeong Hak automatically for Saturday's finals.

With Shalin Zulkifli leading the pack, UAE's Fuaad Almas (1469) improved to take up second outside the automatic qualifiers in second with Malaysia's Aaron Kong (1466) third. Korea's Gu Yong Gin (1451), Singapore's Justin Teng and Moon Byeong Yeol (tie-1443) made up the top six.

The top six qualifiers in the evida-Storm Challenge remained unchanged as Loy Ganzon's 1464 continued to lead the pack. Benedict Tiong (1461) and Masa Ishizuka(1448), Edgar Gathchalian (1435), Orlie Estrabo (1419) and Jerryson Co (1405) maintained the top six spots. The current cut for the top 24 finalists is Carlo Cabacungan's and Jessica Jopson's 1323.

The fifth Euro-Med Storm International Masters Challenge is showcasing the best talents in the world of the tenpin bowling. Thirteen countries and all three zones are repesented by their best bowlers.

Qualifying will end Friday, 30th March and the top 48 bowlers from the Euro-Med Storm qualifying table and the top 24 bowlers from the Bevida-Storm table will contest the masters finals on the 31st March and 1st April.

Photos courtesy of PBAP-Bowlmart.

27th March, Manila: Doha Asian Games and Asian Championship Singles gold medalist, Ryan Lalisang of Jaya Ancol Bowling, Indonesia sizzled on the lanes at Pearl Bowling Centre for a 1537 series to take top qualifying spot of the day in the 5th Euro-Med Storm International Masters Challenge.

The 24-year-old, who failed to impress in last week's Malaysian International Open finals due to a toothache, made amends by setting the lanes on fire with lines of 192, 269 and 290 in his first series and 244, 289 and 253 in the second series for a total of 1537.

Lalisang, who also won the singles gold medal at Pearl Bowling Centre in 2005 SEA Games, fell short by just 4 pins to topple the overall leader and former Philippines coach, Purvis Granger of USA.

Topping Day 4 qualifying score allowed Lalisang an automatic entry into the masters finals. The Indonesian was joined by Kim Byeong Hak of Korea, who posted the second highest qualifying scores of the day with 1456.

Fellow-countrymen, Gu Yong Gin, who took the 2004 and 2005 Euro-Med Storm titles, will be eying his third title after superb performances by knocking down 1451 to top the overall qualifying leaderboard.

Another Korean, Moon Byeong Yeol (1435), Tim Mack of USA (1431), Fuaad Almas (1426) and Cyrus Cheong of Hong Kong (1415) rounded up the top 5 not seeded in the daily qualifying table. Hussain Al Suwaidi (1415), Shalin Zulkifli (1413), Wang Tien Fu (1409), Jason Belmonte (1404) and Carlo ansilungan (1402) filled out sixth to tenth spots.

Scores are expected to soar as hot as the weather outside Pearl Bowling Centre with Singaporeans, led by Men's World Championship two gold medalist, Remy Ong, and Thai bowlers due to arrive and see action tomorrow (28th March).

Meanwhile, in the Bevida-Storm qualifying table, Loy Ganzon, Benedict Tiong and Masa Ishizuka continued to occupy the top three spots with 1464, 1461 and 1448 respectively. Edgar Gatchalian (1435), Orlie Estrabo (1419) and Jerryson Co (1405) also maintained their positions from fourth to sixth.

Qualifying will end Friday, 30th March and the top 48 bowlers from the Euro-Med Storm qualifying table and the top 24 bowlers from the Bevida-Storm table will contest the masters finals on the 31st March and 1st April.

Photos courtesy of PBAP-Bowlmart.

26th March, Manila: 2005 SEA Games gold medalist, Markwin Tee of the Philippines topped the third day qualifying of the 5th Euro-Med Storm International Masters Challenge as foreign bowlers take to the lanesat Pearl Bowling Centre.

Tee steadily rolled 190, 268 and 243 for a 701 first series then stormed into the third day's leaderboard with 228, 226 and 248 improving by 1 pin for 702. His two series gave him 1403 and an impressive 233 average.

Just four behind Tee was 2006 Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong who downed 1399. Wu posted 713 and 686 which allowed both him and Tee to automatically qualify for the finals.

At the top of the daily qualifiers was American, Purvis Granger, who shot back-to-back perfect games on the first day and totaled 1528 from his 823 and 705 series. 2003 World Championship Trio gold medalist was the second highest on day 1 with 1362.

Filipino athlete of the century, Paeng Nepomuceno and Kim Young Pil of Korea joined the automatic daily qualifiers with 1407 and 1400 respectively after taking the top 2 positions in day 2. Topping the rest of the qualifiers were Korea's Gu Yong Gin (1451), Tim Mack of USA (1431) and Fuaad Almas (1426).

Hong Kong's Cyrus Cheung, UAE's Hussain Al Suwadi (tie-1415) and Chinese Taipei's Wang Tien Fu (1409) made up the current top 20.

Loy Ganzon's 1464 series took him to the lead of the Bevida-Storm Challenge qualifying leaderboard. Early pace-setter, Benedict Tiong, who posted 1461, dropped to second while Masa Ishizuka finished third with 1448.

Jumping into fourth is Edgar Gatchalian, who rolled games of 261, 236, 224, 218, 216, 256 for a 1435 series. Orlie Estrabo moved up to board to the fifth place with 1419 series. Jerryson Co (1405), Kathlynn Ann Lopez (1351), Dennis Ho (1347), Nilo Penado (1346) and Von Aerich Tan (1343) rounded up to the top 10 qualifiers.

The top 48 bowlers in the Euro-Med table and top 24 in the Bevida-Storm Challenge table will qualify for the Masters finals which will be contested on the March 31st and April 1st.

Photos courtesy of PBAP-Bowlmart.

25th March, Manila: Former national coach, Purvis Granger of PBAP-Bowlmart, stormed into the qualifying round of the Euro-Med Storm International Masters Challenge by rolling two perfect games on Day 1 of competition.

The former professional bowler rolled 26 strikes in a row and finished with an 823 series for three games. The American rolled 300, 300, 223 in the first series. He then followed it up with 213, 233, and 259 for the second best series of 705 to total 1528 to lead the qualifing table. Using a Storm Shift, the leader just dazzled the crowd as they witnessed his back to back "300" games.

Cecilia Yap and Liza Clutario, both of Team Bowlmart and Storm finished second and third respectively in the qualifying round. Yap and Clutario were both SEA Games and World Championship gold medalists. Yap rolled 248, 212 and 194 in her first best series and 247, 225 and 188 in her second for a 1362 total while Liza checked in with a 1347 series. Top two qualifiers of the day will automatically qualify for the finals.

Top local and foreign bowlers are expected to participate in the prestigious tournament, where the champion will bag One Million Pesos. Paeng Nepomuceno, Philippines Athlete of the Century will lead the local contingent.

Tim Mack, Jason Belmonte, and Shalin Zulkifli, all former world bowler of the year will lead the foreign contingent. Bowlers from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, England, United States, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and the Philippines will compete in this international Challenge.

The top 48 bowlers will qualify for the Masters finals which will be contested on the March 31st and April 1st.

Photos courtesy of PBAP-Bowlmart.

24th March, Manila: Benedict Tiong of Team Bowlmart, made his way to Pearl Bowling Center all the way from Baguio to lead the qualifiers on the first day for the Bevida-Storm Challenge 2007 underway on Saturday.

Tiong used two storm balls to qualify. He used the Diablo and Vertigo and rolled 213, 278 and 255 in his first best series and 180, 224 and 245 for a 1461 total. Orlie Estrabo bowled a 1370 series while Loy Ganzon shot a 1354 series to finish second and third respectively.

Kathlynn Ann Lopez and Masa Ishizuka rolled identical 1351 series to take the fourth spots. Von Aerich Tan (1343), Dennis Ho (1319), Sixto Sengson (1313), Jessica Jopson (1306), Joe Sto. Domingo (1304), Kevin Cu (1296) and Sheena Go (1296) rounded up the top 12 qualifiers of the day.

The top 24 qualifiers will be competing for the coveted title worth Pesos 100,000. Unlike the Euro-Med Storm International Challenge, this tournament will have a local flavor.

Most of the qualifiers will be composed of top bowlers from their respective associations under the Philippine Bowling Congress. The Bevida-Storm Challenge is also and handicap tournament based on current PBC averages.

This tournament is proudly sponsored by Euro-Med Laboratories Inc., Bevida Distilled Drinking Water, Storm Products Inc., Roto-Grip, Wave, and Pearl Bowling Center. The Official Hotel is the Manila Hotel, while Manila Bulletin is the official media partner. Kegel Asia is the official lane maintenance partner.

The fifth edition of the Euro-Med Storm Masters International Challenge qualifying rounds will run till March 30th. The semifinals and finals will be held on March 31st and April 1st, 2007.

Photos courtesy of PBAP-Bowlmart.