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Manacop rallies to prevail in Class A
Simon Manacop competes in the Class A stepladder finals during the PBA Classified Bowling Tournament held late last month at the Saipan Bowling Center. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
Simon Manacop worked his way up to the stepladder finals to reign supreme in the Class A of the Budweiser-sponsored PBA Classified Bowling Tournament held late last month at the Saipan Bowling Center.
The veteran bowler was the last to make it to the stepladder finals, as he placed No. 3 behind Ruselle Zapanta and Bernard Paraiso after the six-game qualifying roll-off. Manacop had 1,067 pinfalls, as he had an up and down performance in Games 1 to 4 (170, 176, 163, 175) before finishing strong with 201 and 183 in Games 5 and 6 for an average of 177.83.
Zapanta nearly averaged 200 with his 199.75 after recording two 200-plus pinfalls (243 and 214 in Games 3 and 4). He totaled 1,197 as he earned 192, 179, 178, and 192 in the other games. Paraiso, on the other hand, netted an average of 180.67 after gaining 1,084 pinfalls (195, 191, 128, 192, 151, and 227).
With Zapanta ruling the qualifier that featured 15 bowlers, he automatically moved into the finals and earned a twice-to-beat advantage, while Manacop and Paraiso were left to battle for the other seat to the championship round. Manacop went on to beat Paraiso, 169-120, to set up a finals faceoff against Zapanta.
The eventual Class A champion then defeated Zapanta in Game 1, 183-138 to force the rubber, which Manacop also won, 179-124, to complete the upset. Manacop received a trophy and $350 cash for topping Class A, while Zapanta pocketed $200. Paraiso settled for the $140 third place purse, while fourth finisher Raymond Angeles went home with $7.
Angeles missed advancing to the stepladder finals, as he was 12 pinfalls short of overtaking Manacop for the third spot with the former registering 1,056 pinfalls and averaging 176. Angeles faltered on his bid to barge into the stepladder finals after tallying only 166 in Game 5 against the 201 of Manacop.
Meanwhile, other bowlers who joined the qualifier were Raymond Zapanta (1,046), Robert Talavera (1,044), Raul Dumapit (1,032), Ramir De Leon (1,032), Percy Omechelang (992), Ariel Dumapit (992), Paul Pangelinan (976), Raphael Zapanta (968), Ador Dimaano (910), and Richard Leong (905)
