14th June, Manila: Fatin Syazliana Bte Adil Nasution bagged her first international title when she triumphed in the Women's Open Masters stepladder finals of the 38th Philippines International Open on Sunday.

Seeded second in Round 2 finals with 1822, just 1 pin behind topseed and three-time Philippines Open champion, Liza Del Rosario, Fatin Syazliana beat the Filipina, 213-193 to force Rosario into the sudden-death decider.

Rosario was leading the Malaysian before the last two frames of the deciding match and needing a double to seal the match after Fatin had struck home for 206. But the Filipina could only managed to spare to hand the title to her challenger.

Second-seed, Fatin, who took home Peso 100,000 (RM7,370) for the victory, ousted third-seed, Marjo Reyes and fellow team-mate, Tengku Emanina, 233-190-197 in the second match to advance to the title match.

The sixth-seed, Emanina took the first stepladder match with 228 against fourth-seed Mades Arles' 188 and fifth-seed Lara Posadas' 225 before crashing out to Fatin. Rosario settled for Peso 40,000 as runner-up.

Sin Li Jane finished a creditable eighth position with 1654, just 15 pins off Tengku Emanina in sixth. Two-time first runner-up, Syakira Yeoh took 13th position while ABF Tour TOC champion, Tang Joh Six ended up in 16th.

Meanwhile, Filipno ace, Raoul Miranda turned American Tim Mack's blunder into his biggest career win with a 226-188 deciding match to clinch the Men's Open Masters crown. The stocky 39-year-old Mack, who recently earned his PBA Tour card in the trials and was topseed after the Round 2 finals, needed only 9 pins in the tenth frame of the first match to wrap up the title.

But the American choked on his last frame registering only seven pins allowing his challenger, Miranda to earn a second chance with a 188-187 narrow win and forcing the sudden-death decider.

The Filipino capped his victory and pocketted the top prize of Peso 250,000 while Mack settled for the runner-up purse of Peso 100,000. The American who claimed he was upset by the noisy gallery behind him earlier, was never the same after the match.

"I had a mental lapse in the tenth frame. Basically, I gave it away," rued Mack of his uncharacteristic meltdown after shooting so well earlier. But he felt disappointed by the distrubance behind him while competing in the first match.

"I was very fortunate with that break in the first match so I made up my mind not to waste the opportunity in the second match," said Miranda, who won the singles bronze medal at last year's Asian Championship.

Defending champion, Benshir Layoso defeated fifth-seed, Kang Bo Long of Malaysia and fellow compatriot, Chester King, 228-207-202 in the first stepladder match to advance to the next match.

Third-seed, Miranda earned a crack at the title after he dispatched second-seed, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong and Layoso, 217-200-196 in the seccond match before his superb run against the topseed. Round 1 leader, Zaid Izlan of Malaysia finished 11th but was only 19 pins from sixth.

Both Miranda and Rosario also received a four-year, Peso 250,000 scholarship each from the UPHS, courtesy of Philippine Bowling Congress president Marianito Tamayo, whose family owns the educational institution. Detailed scores: Ladies' Open Stepladder and Men's Open Stepladder.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

13th June, Manila: National backup squad, Zaid Izlan scorched the lanes at Paeng's Midtown Bowl to claim pole position in the Men's Open Masters Round 1 finals of the 38th Philippines International Open on Saturday.

Kenneth Chua of TBAM-Prima opened accounts with a superb 243 to take an early lead which he held for two games. Four-time World Cup champion and Hall of Famer, Paeng Nepomuceno found his old magic to take over the lead at the halfway mark with a 4-game series of 909.

Filipino, Frederick Ong was second 11 pins adrift with Asian Championship Trios gold medalist, Raoul Miranda third and Malaysia's Zaid Izlan fourth. A superb 255 from Zaid saw the Malaysian taking over the lead after the fifth game.

Zaid stepped up his pace with 224, 266 and a stunning 279 to end Round 1 with 1895, 91 pins ahead of pace-setter, Paeng in second with 1804. Globe-trotting PBA bowler, Tim Mack of USA stormed home to finish third with 1744.

Malaysia's Kang Bo Long did well to take up fourth with 1743 followed by Faha Al-Rageeb of Kuwait in fifth with 1740 and newly-crowned Singapore Open champion, Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE sixth.

Mohd Noer Said and Kelvin Keong failed to make the cut finishing a dismal 17th and 23rd position respectively. India's Vijay Krishna squeezed into the next round in 12th position and will be joined by the top 6 local seeded and the top 6 overseas seeded qualifiers for another 8 games in Round 2.

Meanwhile, last year's ABF Tour Philippines leg champion, Apple Posadas finished in the lead with 1744 from compatriot and Asian Schools Silver medalist, Kimberly Lao in second with 1697.

Pace-setter, Fatin Syazliana of Malaysia settled for third with 1678 ahead of World Championship Silver medalist, Liza Clutario of PBAP-Bowlmart-RP third with 1630. Milki Ng was Hong Kong's best performer taking up fourth with 1603.

Two-time Philippines Open first runner-up, Syakira Yeoh took fifth spot with 1598 followed by Hong Kong's Sylvia Kong sixth. Mades Arles of TBAM-Prima-RP made the cut into Round 2 finishing 12th.

The top 12 will be joined by the top 3 local seeded and top 3 overseas seeded qualifiers, Tang Joh Six, Tengku Emanina and Sin Li Jane of Malaysia for the Round 2 finals tomorrow. Detailed scores: Men's Open Round 1 and Ladies' Open Round 1.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

12th June, Manila: Malaysian backup squad made progress in the 38th Philippines International Open with Tengku Emanina leading three other women qualifying for the Women's Open Masters finals on Friday.

Having only arrived Manila yesterday, the national backup squad took to the lanes for their qualifying rounds. Tengku Emanina Laily impressed with 699 and 629 for a total of 1328 to share the lead with fellow-compatriot and ABF Tour TOC champion, Tang Joh Six.

Milo International Junior All-Stars champion and Commonwealth Championship Masters gold medalist, Sin Li Jane finished third with 1308 followed by team-mates, Fatin Syazliana in fourth with 1289.

Two-time Philippines Open first runner-up, Syakira Yeoh took sixth spot with 1244 but will have to battle it out in the Round 1 finals with Fatin. The top three gets a bye into Round 2.

They will be joined by the top 3 overseas qualifier led by Lara Posadas, two-time Philippines Open champion, Liza Del Rosario and Kimberly Lao from the local pool.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Open second runner-up, Kang Bo Long did well to finished sixth in the Men's Open Masters overseas table and will earn a bye into Round 2. Kang totaled 1376 behind leaders, Wu Siu Hong of Hong in pole with 1504.

Joing the two were Hong Kong's Wicky Yeung in second with 1422 followed by Ken Lin third with 1408, Kuwait's Rakan Al-Amiri fourth with 1394 and current Asia Ranked No. 1, Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE fifth.

Kelvin Keong and Mohd Noer Said also made the finals after they chalked up 1338 and 1331 respectively to occupy 10th and 11th positions while Zaid Izlan only managed 13th in the mixed pool.

2003 champion, Biboy RIvera of the Philippines took over the lead from overnight leader, Richie Poblete after improving his tally to 1417. Poblete dropped to second with 1407 followed by Chester King third with 1392.

The top 6 men from the local pool and the top 6 men from the overseas pool earned a bye into Round 2 finals while the rest of the qualifiers will contest Round 1 finals on June 13 where the field will be cut top 12 and joined by the seeded finalists for the Round 2 finals on June 14.

The top 6 will advance into the stepladder finals to determine the champion. Likewise, the top 3 local women qualifiers and the top 3 from overseas pool will earn a bye into Round 2. The field will again be cut to top 12 to join the 6 seeded qualifiers for Round 2. Detailed scores: Ladies' Open Qualifying and Men's Open Qualifying.

Photos by Terence Yaw.