Bowling tourneys remain on hold

Local bowling tournaments remained suspended as the Saipan Bowling Center is still under repair.

Saipan Bowling Center is still undergoing repairs with JET Holdings working on its leaking roofs and other damage it sustained from Typhoon Soudelor last Aug. 2 (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

Shine Tenorio of JET Holdings, which owns and operates the lone bowling alley on Saipan, said repairs are ongoing as the facility was hit hard by Typhoon Soudelor that struck the island last Aug. 2.

“We are doing our best to get things done. We have seven people doing the repair work and at this time, we can’t tell when we are going to reopen the bowling alley,” Tenorio said in a telephone interview with Saipan Tribune yesterday.

JET Holdings is working on the leaking roof of the bowling alley and other damage it sustained during the typhoon. There is also no power at the facility and their generator also broke down.

“Initially, we targeted to open first week of November, but there’s lot of things to be done. Hopefully, we can reopen before the year ends. We are after the safety of the players and other patrons so we don’t want to rush things,” Tenorio added.

The closure of the SBC prevented Saipan Bowling Association from holding its August, September, and October monthly roll-offs.

SBA secretary general and treasurer Ross Zapanta, in a separate interview, said they have no choice but to wait for the reopening of SBC to resume their monthly competitions. He added that other bowlers are also busy in the recovery efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Soudelor.

Once SBC resumes its operations, Zapanta said SBA may try to hold two monthly tournaments for two days to make up for the backlog and finish the 2015 season. SBA usually holds the monthly competition for two days and schedules the season-finale every January. The year-end roll-off features the 12 monthly winners and they will battle for the Budweiser King and Queen of the Lanes titles.

Before the closure of SBC, five female bowlers have won monthly crowns with Diana Camacho prevailing in February, March, and July and her daughter Carrie in June. Diana Chong (January), Gloria Omechelang (April), and Tess Fabie (May) were the other monthly champions.

In the men’s division, Raymond Angeles made it back-to-back in January and February, while Robert Talavera duplicated the feat in February and March. Edward Baluyan topped the May roll-off, while Ruselle Zapanta and Raul Dumapit ruled the June and July tournaments, respectively.

Besides the King and Queen of the Lanes tournament, the Saturday and Thursday night leagues also hold competitions at SBC.