Singaporeans make the Masters finals
5th March, Doha: Singaporeans competing in the H.H. Eir Cup 2009, Remy Ong and Shaun Ng have made the finals after finishing eighth and 21st position in the overall qualifying standings on Thursday evening. Ong, who topped Squad 11 with 898 and finished second in Squad 13 with 912, made the Top 8 with 1810 while Ng made the positions 9 to 24 cut only after a superb 913 in the last and Squad 18.
Both had reached Doha on March 1st to make their qualifying attempts on the following day. But they did not have the best of starts and had struggled to make any impression in the next two days.
On Wednesday, Ong finally found the going easier when he shot 192, 259, 233 and 214 to top Squad 11 but his best of two squad total was only good for 33rd position. The 31-year-old then fired a superb 912 in Squad 13 and crucially improved his 8-game total to 1810 to take up fifth in the overall stndings.
"Making the top 8 here in important as you'll advance directly into Stage 2 finals," said the two gold medalist of the 2006 Busan World Men's Championship. "The lanes are not easy and I really have to keep on a sharp focus throughout the squad.
Meanwhile, Shaun Ng was unlucky not to have made the finals in most of his earlier attempts. His best two squads prior to the final Squad 18 was an 8-game total of 1653 leaving him in a lowly 44th position.
Determined not to qualifying through the desperado squad, Ng made his final attempt in Squad 18 and came home with flying colours. Ng, who will be turning 28 this April, shot 209, 212, 237 and 255 for a sizzling 913.
His effort gave him a total of 1762 putting him in 21st position in the overall qualifying standings. Although Ng did not make the top 8, he expressed happiness in finally qualifying for the finals.
Ex-Kuwaiti national coach, Patrick Healey Jnr, maintained pole position in the standings with 1995 followed by Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong in second with 1937. Qatar's Abdulla Al-Qattan finished third with 1880.
Two bowlers made the top 8 cut pushing down Remy Ong into eighth spot. Khaled Al-Dubyyan of Kuwait and Mohamed Sultan of Bahrain made the top 8 cut in sixth and seventh positions after they topped Squad 17 and 18 respectively.
The top 8 will advance to Stage 2 finals earning a bye. Positions 9 - 24 plus two bowlers from Squad 1 and 2 and another two bowlers from Squad 3/4 and Squad 5/6 will be joined by another four bowlers from the desperado squad will contest the 8-game Stage 1 finals.
The top 16 at the end of the Stage 1 finals will be joined by the top 8 seeded for another 8-game Stage 2 finals on Friday. The top 8 finishers will proceed to the two-game total pinfall knockout Stage 3 finals.
The topseed will meet the eighth-seed, the second-seed will meet the seventh-seed and so on. The winners of this stage will proceed to the semifinals and thereafter the title match for a chance to take home the top prize of 75,000 Qatar riyal.
Detailed scores: Overall Qualifying Standings | Photo Album.
Photos by Terence Yaw in DOha.