Singaporeans making inroads in Dubai
21st February, Dubai: Reigning national champion and globe-trotter, Remy Ong and newcomer, Benjamin Hong were making good inroads during their qualifying rounds of the 3rd Dubai International Open Bowling Tournament. Remy Ong, who finished third in the 1st Dubai Open in 2010 but missed the second edition when the tournament clashed with the Commonwealth Championship in Malaysia last year.
Fresh from winning the National Championship last November, Ong’s first international assignment was competing in the IBC 2012 in Hakata, Japan two weeks ago but came home empty handed.
After having arrive Dubai late Monday evening, the Singaporean took to the lanes for his first attempt to reel in a promising 212, 256 and 235 for a 3-game series of 703. But his second subsequent attempt yeilded on 678 when the lanes got drier.
On his third try, Ong managed only 645 giving him a 9-game tally of 2026 which put him in 23rd position in the qualifying table. Benjamin Hong, who accompanied Ong for the trip, registered 704, 660 and 634 to end up in 29th position, just one spot off the cut.
With two more days left for qualifying, the Singaporeans will have plenty of time to improve their scores and secure their places in the finals.
Meanhwile, UAE’s Mahmood Al Attar snatched the lead from overnight leader and defending champion, Shaker Al Hassan by just one pin after a sizzling 737 series today and topping the standings with 2171.
Shaker slipped to second with 2170 while Hareb Al Mansoori, winner of Day 10 high series award, finished third with 2167. Filipino southpaw, Jordan Evan took fourth spot with 2162 while Ali Ahmed Al Saffer completed the top 5 with 2146.
Standings are based on best of three 3-game series attempts and positions 1 to 8 will receive a bye for Round 3 finals. Positions 9 to 26 plus two best UAE qualifiers will contest the Round 2 finals over 8 games on Friday February 24.
The top 12 highest finishers together with the top 8 seeded qualifiers will contest the Round 3 finals over another 8 games where the field will be cut to 10 for another 8 games in Round 4 finals on Saturday 25 with pins carried forward.
The top 5 will proceed to the Stepladder Finals with the third, fourth and fifth seeds to bowl one game. The winner will advance to meet the second seed for another game and a chance to face the top seed in the title match to decide the champion.
The champion will walk away with the top prize of AED60,000 (approx. US$16,300), AED30,000 for second and AED15,000 for third position.
Detailed scores: Open Qualifying Standings | Photo Album.
Photos by Terence Yaw in Dubai.