Sunday, October 15, 2017 – CENTRAL LANES BOWLING CENTER, Tamuning, Guam
With one month remaining until the finalists for the 2017 Budweiser King and Prince are settled, Aaron Elliott and Annastashia Leon Guerrero secured their positions in the sixteen-competitor field. Both bowlers claimed the October titles in convincing fashion.
Elliott finished the six games qualifier in a tie for first place in the Budweiser King division, but fell a pin short in the tie breaker to land in second. Thereafter, Elliott began the process of elimination by pouncing on the pins with consistent output. As the second seed, Elliott discarded 8th seed Zachary Ford 221-145 in the semi-final round then took advantage of split leaves by 5th seed Jae Sang Lee to claim his second title of the year 226-183. Lee reached the finale via a 221-175 drubbing of top seed Victor San Nicolas in the semi-final round.
San Nicolas and Elliott shared top honors during the qualifier followed by Gregory Borja, Jay Leon Guerrero, Lee, Justin Mendiola, Ricky Duenas, Nikko Gutierrez, Zachary Ford and Jeremiah Camacho who competed in the top ten elimination rounds.
Annastashia Leon Guerrero used her handicap advantage to seal her first title of the Aloha Maid Prince of the Lanes. After nine months of building on mechanics, Leon Guerrero was able to witness her practice sessions to fruition. Qualifying in seventh place, Leon Guerrero defeated her first three opponents scratch. She beat out 6th seed Ben Taimanglo 161-135, then dispatched 10th seed Arnold Hernandez 189-147 before sneaking past top seed Allan Aperocho in the semi-finals 145-144. 2nd seed Frank Manibusan Jr. strung seven strikes in a row in his semi-final match ousting 3rd seed Eya Salandanan 254-186 to set the final match.
In the Prince final, Leon Guerrero took the early lead on missed spares by Manibusan. However, tides shifted and Manibusan took a single-digit lead during mid game. Both bowlers were unable to shake off the jitters as they continued to settle for spares until the closing frames. In the end, the 22-pin handicap advantage was enough for Leon Guerrero to be crowned Princess of the Lanes with scores of 155+13 for Manibusan and 152+35 in favor of Leon Guerrero. The title added to her win earlier in the month during the Triple J Guam Youth Bowler of the month.
Aperocho led all Prince contestants during the six games qualifier followed by Manibusan, Salandanan, John Ignacio, Arlene Reyes, Ben Taimanglo, Leon Guerrero, Naiyah Taimanglo, Jesse Flickinger and Arnold Hernandez rounded off the top ten.
The next Budweiser King and Aloha Maid Prince of the Lanes will be held on Sunday, November 19, 2017, 9:00 a.m. at the Central Lanes Bowling Center.
Guam Bowling 