Raphael wins sixth Bing tourney of 2008

Raphael Zapanta won his third straight Bing Prince of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament and his sixth of the year after topping a six-team field Sunday at the Capital Bowling Center in Garapan.

The 13-year-old Chacha Junior High School student’s victory in the August tilt follow similar triumphs in the June and July editions of the monthly competition organized by Saipan Bowling Association and sponsored by MARPAC.

The son of bowling officials Ross and Gigi Zapanta tattooed 737 pins in the four-game series to finish with an average of 184.25.

Zapanta had low-key start, rolling a pedestrian 155 in his first game before getting going with a tournament-high 213 in the second. He ended his evening with solid scores of 183 and 186 in the third and fourth games, respectively.

Aside from reigning supreme in the June to August roll-offs, Zapanta also won the February, March, and May competitions of the Bing Prince of the Lanes.

Trailing Zapanta by a whopping 110 pins was newcomer Leeanne Yarobwemal who wound up with a 527 total and a 131.75 average. Yarobwemal rolled a four-game series of 159, 149, 115, and 104.

April champion Zack Cruz finished third with a four-game series of 517 and 129.25 average. He started out with a 144, rolled a 121 in the second, before finishing up with identical 126s in the final two games.

Troy Verdaguer, Marion McKenzie, and Toby Verdaguer make up the rest of the participants for the August Bing Prince of the Lanes Tenpin Bowling Tournament with pinfall totals of 488, 432, and 256, respectively.

For finishing 1-2-3, Zapanta, Yarobwemal, and Cruz won $20, $15, and $10, respectively from SBA and MARPAC.

Simon Manacop and Elena Soll, meanwhile, are leading the August Budweiser King and Queen of the Lanes following Sunday’s roll-off at the Garapan venue.

Manacop, who already won the March and June roll-offs for men, opened up with three straight 200-plus games (244, 241, and 201) before tapering off a bit with a lowly 165 in the fourth game to finish with an eye-popping 851 pinfall total, good for a 212.75 average.

He is followed by Kitz Barja (757 and 189.25) and Raymond Angeles (743 and 185.75).

Soll, for her part, leads the women’s division following Day 1 of the monthly tournament after blasting 663 pinfalls, good for a 165.55 average.

Yho Villavicencio (654 and 163.5) and Cora Muna (614 and 153.5) finished second and third in the Queen of the Lanes.

Results of Day 2 of the two-day King and Queen of the Lanes last night were still not available as of press time.

The Bing Prince/Princess of the Lanes as well as the Budweiser King and Queen of the Lanes are sponsored by MARPAC. The tournaments are organized by the Saipan Bowling Association.