Sunday, December 1, 2024 – CENTRAL LANES BOWLING CENTER, Tamuning, Guam
The top two successful senior bowlers of 2024 met again with the crown on the line and once again tournament director Manny
Tagle reigns supreme. Tagle took advantage of a missed spare in the ninth frame from multi-champion Zaldy Ponce to repeat as the
Pin Point Senior Monthly Challenge for December 239-236 Sunday afternoon at Central Lanes Bowling Center.
The Last Man Standing (LMS) competition is boasting the highest prize fund ever (now over $2,300). No one was able to cash in this
month making the finals for this contest set for January 12, 2025. This highly anticipated cash competition will allow an opportunity
for all the qualifiers to get a cash award as the rounds repeat until the entire fund is exhausted.
The opening elimination rounds saw 7th seed Ponce and 9th seed Gina San Nicolas advancing over 5th seed Mike Sanchez, 12th seed Henry Abasta, 14th seed Jim Pinaula, and 16th seed Jess Muya in the “A” bracket. Sheila Bangs (10th seed) and 11th seed Joe Murphy were able to get past 6th seed Edgar Nalundasan, 8th seed Frank San Agustin, 13th seed Bill Roberto, and 15th seed Rick Torres in the “B” bracket.
The second elimination round placed 4th seed Alex Santiago beating out Murphy and Bangs to move to the semifinals. Ponce, on the other hand pulled an upset of 3rd seed Art Dulla and 9th seed San Nicolas to get to the semi-finals. The semi-finals is the challenging parts for the lower seed survivors of the elimination rounds because now the lower seed of each match must beat the higher seed twice to move to the championship. Tagle had his hands full with Santiago losing the first match 222-177 with handicap. But he came back, tying it up with a 273-187 second game win to force a best ball roll-off and won 8-7 to set up a match against Ponce who is having a phenomenal season as a repeat champion and a points leader this year.
The final match looked like it was going to be a cakewalk for Ponce with an open in the first frame but followed with four powerful strikes
to take the lead going into the second half of the match. Tagle also had an open in the first and third frame while pulling a double in his half of the match. He continued with a spare and three strikes going into the final frame. Ponce countered with five strikes for his half but the open frames in the 6th and 9th frame gave Tagle the opportunity in the 10th to make his comeback and claim the December championship by 3 pins. It had to be a very satisfying win for Tagle who had been fighting a personal injury from a work accident a few months ago. Ponce did not make things any easier either and only proved that both he and Tagle will be the upcoming favorites for the 2024 Senior Grand Finals to be held later this month.
The 2024 Senior Grand Finals is a two-day event scheduled for December 29 and 30. The top 32 bowlers based on accumulation of points over a minimum six tournaments are eligible for this year ending contest. The top 8 bowlers will get a bye on the first day while the remaining 24 will have a five-game match shootout. The top 8 for the first day will move on to the finals on the second day. All finalists are required to show up on the first day and pay their entry fee or face disqualification and provide opportunity for the remaining qualifiers to move up the ranks and place higher. For more tournament information, please contact Joey Miranda, Manny Tagle, or Jim Pinaula at the Central Lanes Bowling Center Pin Point Pro Shop.
Guam Bowling 