A strong showing by Singapore boys
While Malaysia downed another decent game of 857, Singapore’s Basil Low, Benjamin Lim. Christopher Hwang and Justin Lim failed to keep pace and managed only 791 to slip down to fifth while Japan posted a superb 916 to take up second.
The Singapore quartet then went on a strikefest with Basil setting the pace with 247, Benjamin 229, Christopher 2221 and Justin 216 giving themselves a 913 effort which propelled them to second spot.
“Our boys somehow were all pumped up and firmly focus with their task at hand,” said national coach, Francis Yeo. “Clearly they were urging each other on throughout the series. Team spirits were obviously high too.”
“The lane transitions were happening very fast and fortunately we were quick enough to make the necessary adjustments,” said the youngest team member, Basil Low. “The girls have already won the gold and we’re aiming not to go home without one.”
Japan ended weakly in the third game to settle for third spot with 2550 while favourite, Korea failed to make an impression finishing fourth with 2531. Hong Kong rounded up the top 5 with 2506.
Hui Fen posted the highest 3-game series of 638 followed by Krishna on 614, Bernice 595 and Gina 526. Japan ran away with the lead after chalking up a team total of 2686 followed by arch rival, Korea in second with 2557.
Australia finished a creditable third with 2489 ahead of Malaysia in fourth on 2487. Singapore has two girls in the top 16 All Events standings after 15 games played. Overnight leader, Bernice dropped to second behind new leader, Misaki Mukotani of Japan.
The girls will resume with their second block on Sunday morning followed by the boys in the afternoon. The top 16 girls and top 16 boys in the All Events standings will qualify for the Masters finals on January 1 and 2.
Detailed scores: Boy’s Team Block 1 | Boy’s Team Block 1.