Sarah Yap still has the touch

Despite spending most of her time focusing on developing the skills of local bowlers, national bowling coach Sarah Yap still manages to add to her list of accomplishments as a bowler.

Faced against standouts from the Philippines, Hong Kong, Korea, and Guam, Yap was able to put up another impressive performance and placed third in the 5th Guam International Tenpin Bowling Open held from Oct. 21 to Nov. 4 at the Central Lanes Bowling Center.

Yap’s road to a third place finish was long as she first competed in the singles category, and placed 27th overall with 795 pin in four games. Her performance was identical to that of Hong Kong’s Vanessa Fung.

Yap then turned her attention to the doubles competition, and this time, she teamed up with Fung to put up the best performance as the two combined for 858 pins. She also teamed with Eun Jung Kim of Korea, and their score of 826 pins was good for eighth best.

In the trio competition, Yap teamed with Fung and Joey Yip of Hong Kong, and the three combined for 1,216 pins, which was third best in the competition.

After all was said and done, Yap had closed the All Events competition in 15th place with 1,563 pins.

She then advanced to the Masters showdown, and after 16 long games, was able to finish in third to move on to the stepladder finals.

In the 16-game charge, Yap broke the 200-mark nine times, saving her best for last as she closed with 242 pins in her final game. She started off with 217 pins, then cooled off a bit for 196 and 181 pins before returning strong for 219, 207, and 225 pins. After posting 186 and 188 pins in her seventh and eighth games, Yap got back into the groove and busted down 201, 235, and 221 pins. She then scored a pedestrian 149 before improving for 179 and 191 pins. She then closed her campaign with 232 and 242 pins.

With that, Yap finished with a total of 3,397 pins as she also held a 128 handicap. She averaged 204.31 pins per game.

Because she finished in the Top 3, Yap secured a slot in the second round of the step ladder finals.

The first round featured Kim advancing past Fung and Keith Guerrero of Guam. Kim had knocked down 228 pins and finished with 236 with an eight-handicap; Fung knocked down 213 closed with 221 pins with an eight-handicap as well, and Guerrero had 182 pins.

Kim advanced to the second round, which was won by Purvis Granger of the Philippines, who left a mark on 233 pins. Yap bruised 203 pins and finished with 211with her eight-pin handicap, while Kim recorded 192 and finished with 200 pins because of her handicap.

At that point, Yap had already secured her third place finish.

Sixto Sengson of the Philippines was able to beat Granger in the finals, 258-245.

Yap remained in Guam as she is currently guiding the CNMI delegation competing in the 20th Asian Intercity Bowling Championship.

As reported earlier, CNMI delegation manager and Saipan Bowling Association official Ross Zapanta expressed that Yap’s performance brings her credibility with those who train under her guidance.

“It’s very good because the bowlers know trainer is a good bowler,” he said. “As a good bowler, she can be a good coach. It gives credibility to trainer and they’ll have more confidence in her.”