Talavera, Villavicencio draw first blood

Robert Talavera and Yho Villavicencio ruled Saipan Bowling Association’s first monthly roll-off for 2012.

Talavera topped the SBA/Budweiser King of the Lanes Tournament, showing consistency at the Capitol Bowling Center last Sunday, while Villavicencio won in the Queen of the Lanes, besting 10 other female keglers.

His 205 pinfalls in Game 1 gave Talavera a strong start and he went on to post 200-plus pinfalls in two more games (220 and 245) to go with his 195 in Game 2 for a four-game total of 865 pinfalls and an impressive average of 216.25.

Day 1 leader Raphael Zapanta was bumped off from the leaderboard after Day 2 of the competition and slid to second with his Saturday total of 838 pinfalls. Zapanta started slow in the first day of the roll-off with 162 pinfalls, but finished strong with his 208, 235, and 233 in the last three games for an average of 209.50 pinfalls.

Percy Omechelang, who came in at third in Day 1 with his 756 pinfalls, returned at CBC for Day 2 and still ended up at the No. 3 spot after tallying 801 pinfalls. Bowlers are allowed to join both days of the tournament, but only the higher score is counted.

Cash prizes were awarded to the Top 3 finishers with Talavera earning $90 and Zapanta and Omechelang pocketing $50 and $40, respectively.

Villavicencio took home $70 for reigning supreme in the women’s division roll-off. She collected 713 pinfalls in Day 1, built on her 143 and 214 pinfalls in the first two games and 178s in the last two. The January Queen was the lone competitor in her field to log at least 700 pinfalls, as runner-up Gloria Omechelang only mustered 678 pinfalls in Day 1. Omechelang had an up-and-down performance in the first day with her 145 in Game 1 and 178, 186, and 169 in the last three games. She came back in Day 2, but still fell short of overtaking Villavicencio, as Omechelang only knocked down 664 pins.

With Omechelang already notching second place and the $40 runner-up prize, Ron Cal rounded out the Top 3 with her four-game total of 649 pinfalls. Cal was flat in her first game, making only 138 pinfalls, but recovered in the last three (177, 178, and 147).

In the Fiji Water/Prince of the Lanes, Marion McKenzie defeated four other youth bowlers. He recorded 685 pinfalls (174, 164, 167, and 180) for an average of 171.25 and a 23-pinfall win over 2011 Prince of the Lanes John Taisacan.

Taisacan had the highest score in a single game (193 pinfalls in Game 2), but failed to surpass McKenzie after posting 167, 143, and 155 in three other games for a total of 658 pinfalls. Rounding out the Top 3 was Ryan Batac (600 pinfalls), while Nikko Gutierrez (579) and Marcel McKenzie (357) came in at fourth and fifth, respectively.