Sunday, August 18, 2025 – CENTRAL LANES BOWLING CENTER, Tamuning, Guam
Sixteenth seed Mike Duenas took full advantage of the lane condition and the right ball choice to battle his way from being the last qualifier to upsetting Zaldy Ponce for the August Pinpoint Senior Monthly Challenge Tournament. Ponce is currently the hottest senior bowler on the challenge tournament having taken two titles this year already and finishing in the top four in four of them.
The “Last Man Standing” competition that starts the tournament finally had a woman winner this year. Little Rose Tosco walked away with 10% of the accumulated $1,700+ prize money available to those daring enough to risk it all by knocking down a set number of pins but will lose it all if they fail. Tosco gave her fellow bowling crowd plenty to cheer about as she made the shot for the 10% but wisely chose not to go further.
The first-round knockoffs in Bracket A ended with Duenas and fifth seed Manny Palileo outpointing seventh seed Manny Tagle, ninth seed Yvonne Acda, twelfth seed Jim Pinaula, and fourteenth seed Liz Langas. The Bracket B winners were eleventh seed Edgar Nalundasan and Ponce over sixth seed Gina San Nicolas, eighth seed Mike Sanchez, thirteenth seed Jude Tenorio, and fifteenth seed Bill Roberto.
Round two had Duenas powering over Tosco and Palileo in Bracket A. Ponce continued his run by nipping Nalundasan and ousted fourth seed Charlie Cabarles to move to the semi-finals.
The semi-finals are usually dramatic because the lower seed must beat the higher seed twice to advance to the championship. This day was no exception as Duenas had to beat second seed Alex Santiago in a roll-off to get to the finals. Ponce went two straight over top seed Frank San Agustin to face Duenas in the finals.
The championship was a real challenge for both Ponce and Duenas with Ponce given the advantage of being there three times winning twice. But that did not faze Duenas who had fought every frame to earn his shot at the title. Both played and took the lead from each other twice before Ponce made an error in the latter frames coupled with Duenas making the marks needed to take the title 202-176 with handicap and the $500+ prize to go with it. Afterward, Duenas remarked that it was his ”never say die” that kept him focused on keeping going despite the challenge of having to bowl more games to win.
All the competitors have received points that add to the Top 24 grand finals to be held in December.
The qualifiers for the Pin Point September Senior Monthly Challenge are currently ongoing mainly on the Friday Night Senior League. Senior bowlers who are not in that league can still qualify via their other Central Lanes leagues provided they are entered at the Pin Point Pro Shop in Central Lanes before their shadow bowling session ends. For more information, please contact Joey Miranda, Manny Tagle, or Jim Pinaula at the Pin Point Pro Shop at Central Lanes Bowling Center.
Guam Bowling 