BOUNCING back in the final two days of qualifying after a lousy start, 23-year-old Gabriel Velasco cruised past rivals to win the championship trophy of the 14th Datba Araw ng Dabaw NBT Open Tournament that concluded over the weekend at the SM Lanang Premier Bowling Center.
Top finisher Velasco of Davao Tenpin Bowlers Association (Datba), a Davao Doctors College graduating nursing student, toppled No. 3 Bong Amado of Dagupan Tenpin Bowling Incorporated (Datbi), 226-216, in their titular showdown. Each had a handicap of 32.
Velasco, who was Datba 2018 Bowler of the Year, bagged a cash prize of P50,000 while Amado settled for the runner-up prize of P20,000.
The Dabawenyo's feat in his fourth Araw ng Dabaw nationals, however, was not expected. "Di ko po talaga inexpect kasi syempre ang dami ring naglaro at meron pang mga taga Luzon at Visayas, magagaling din. Kahit sino pwedeng manalo," he said in a Facebook interview with VoxPop Davao.
He said the road to the masters finals was tough as he had low games during the qualifying round.
"During masters finals maam siniguro ko lang talaga na nasa average score lang ako para di ako bumagsak at para makasali sa top eight shootout. Pero na swertehan talaga at naging number 1 after eight games. Buti nalang nanalo ako sa first game sa finals," Velasco, who gained the twice-to-beat advantage, added.
In the first shootout, No. 7 Rolly Castillo of Lipa City Tenpin Bowlers Association (LCTBA) rolled 238 pins to outclass No. 6 Mark Li of Datba (201), No. 8 Reggie Gulinao of Manila Tenpin Bowlers Association (182) and No. Manuel Nierra II of Datba-Prima (180) to advance to the second shootout.
Amado, who hit 238 pinfalls, bested No. 2 AJ Galendez of Datba (196), No. 4 Art Galendez of Datba (204) and Castillo (198) to arrange a title match against Velasco.
Third placer AJ pocketed P10,000 while fourth placer Art received P5,000 and fifth placer Castillo went home with P3,000. A cash prize of P2,000 was given to next three winners Nierra, Li and Gulinao.
Nierra also claimed P3,000 for clinching the top qualifier award with 1,336 pinfalls while Li (1,321) and AJ (1,317) got P2,000 and P1,000, respectively.
A total of 70 pintopplers joined the annual bowlfest.
