30th September, Singapore: Malaysian youngster missed an opportunity to capture his first-ever major title when he lost to the more experienced, Jack Wong of Singapore in the final stepladder match at the concluding 38th Singapore International Open.

Ang almost captured his first-ever international open title as he met top-seed Jack Wong in the Men's Open final stepladder match after he outshone his more experienced teammate, Daniel Lim and third-seed, Cheng Chao-Sheng of Chinese Taipei in the second match, 230-219-217.

Both Ang and Wong had splits in the first frame when the match got underway. But when Wong came back with four strikes-in-a-row, the 17-year-old Commonwealth Youth Games Gold medalist struggled throughout the match with another 3 splits in the third, eigtht and ninth frames to end the match on a lowly 151 to the champion's 210.

Despite being the best Malaysian performer in the championship, Ang were contented with second while the Singaporean took the coveted title

for the second time. "Perfect Jack" as he is commonly known as, Wong first won the Singapore Open crown in 1987 when he was 38 years of age, almost 18 years ago.

"I'm over the hill over the win," said the 53-year-old veteran. "When I had a split in the first frame, I knew that I was a bit over-excited in this all-important occassion. But I stayed clam and managed to get four strikes in a row. From then on I knew that I could take the title.

Fourth-seed, Daniel Lim had earlier ousted teammate and fifth-seed, Zaid Izlan and Singapore's David Wong, 216-179-189 and almost won the second match had he struck home in the final frame. Jack Wong took home S$25,000 while runner-up Adrian Ang won S$10,000 and Cheng was S$5,000 richer.

Malaysia's hope of success in the women's division was also dashed when Women's World Championship Gold medalist and fourth-seed, Esther Cheah and Singapore's Jennifer Tan lost in the first stepladder match to fifth-seed, Alice Tay, 181-226-230.

Tay went on to take the second match when she ousted two Taiwanese, Tsai Hsin-Yi and Asian ranked No. 1, Wang Yu-Ling, 208-193-184. Tay almost gave Singapore a double celebration when she defeated top-seed, Hung Shu-Chun, 203-174 in the third match to force a deciding final match.

But Hung regained her composure starting off with four strikes-in-a-row to prevent Tay mounting any sort of challenge. Hung went on to capture the women's crown with 226 against Tay's 195.

Chinese Taipei women ended the second block finals occupying the top three positions with Hung as top-seed with a total of 3363. Tsai finished second with 3321 ahead of first block leader, Wang in third with 3246. The champion won S$5,000 for her effort while Tay settled for S$2,500 for second. Tsai took home S$1,200 for ending in third after the stepladder finals.

The top 16 men and women also made the cut for the ABF Tour Singapore leg which will be held at Victor's Superbowl on Saturday morning. Zandra Aziela and Tang Joh Six joined Esther Cheah to make the cut for the ABF Tour Singapore leg while Adrian Ang, Daniel Lim, Zaid Izlan, Azidi Ameran, Zulmazran Zulkifli and Ben Heng qualified for the men's division. Detailed scores of Men's Stepladder and Women's Stepladder are available.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

29th September, Singapore: Spinners dominated the Women's Open Masters first block in the 38th Singapore International Open with Chinese Taipei's Wang Yu-Ling and Hung Shu-Chun occupying the top two spots.

Wang, who won three God medals in the Women's World Championship in Denmark last month, led from from the halfway mark to finish in the 8-game forst block finals with a convincing score of 1724. The leader set a scorching pace with 225 and 267 in her first two games and thereafter kept a constant pace to lead teammate, Hung Shu-Chun.

Hung totalled 1676, 48 pins adrift to give the Taiwanese a 1-2 finish while Filipina, Liza Clutario's strong final two games shot her to third with a total of 1650. Defending champion, Liza Del Rosario, who led briefly after the fifth game, ended her block with two low games in the seventh and eighth and dropped to sixth with 1634.

Two Singapore spinners, Jennifer Tan and Ong She Na kept in close contact with the leaders to finish the day with 1644 and 1638 to take up fourth and fifth positions respectively.

Two more Taiwanese spinners, Tsai Ting-Yi and Chu Yu-Chieh occupied seventh and ninth positions while Women's World Championship Gold medalist, Esther Cheah of Malaysia with teammate, Zandra Aziela completed the top 10 in eighth and tenth spots on 1617 and 1616.

Four Singaporeans with Amanda Ng, Catherine Kang, Alice Tay and Geraldine Ng taking up 11th to 14th positions. The women will complete their second block of 8 games Friday, 30th September at the end of which the top 6 will make the cut for the stepladder finals. The top 16 women will also qualify for the final leg of the ABF Tour - Singapore to be played on Saturday, 1st October.

Malaysia's other finalists, Shalin Zulkifli and Wendy Chai did not get off to a good start and struggled throughout to end up in 21st and 27th respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

29th September, Singapore: Malaysians made their presence felt when Adrian Ang and Daniel Lim finished first and second in the first block of the Men's Open Masters in the 38th Singapore International Open.

Ang, who captured the Penang State Championship title two weeks ago, set the lanes at Victor's Superbowl on fire with lines of 255, 230, 246 and 243 and was leading comfortably at the halfway mark. The leader then began to struggle at the fifth, sixth and seventh game posting only 187, 190 and 186.

"The lane conditions started to break down at the fifth game and I was caught with it," said the 16-year-old national bowler. "I had to make a lot adjustments and changes to get back into the game. Ang ended with a 213 in his final game to lead the field of 39 finalists on 1750 total.

Teammate and two-time National champion, Daniel Lim was also superb finishing second to Ang, 40 pins adrift on 1710. "Except for the slow start in the first game, I'm happy to have bowl well today," said the 28-year-old. "I hope I can maintain my position in the second block and make the top 6 stepladder finals.

Tyrone Ongpauco was the best Filipino performer taking up third spot with 1709, just 1 pin behind Lim followed by Chinese Taipei's Cheng Chao-Sheng and the evergreen, Jack Wong of Singapore tieing in fourth position with 1698.

"I didn't do so well this year except for finishing fourth in the Chinese Taipei Open," said the 30-year-old Ongpauco. "I had to bowl on a tighter line as opposed to my usual angle and it paid off. I hope I can keep up the same pace for tomorrow.

Other Malaysian bowlers in the finals were Zaid Izlan (6th-1696), Azidi Ameran (10th-1667), and Ben Heng (20th-1609). Asian Ranked No. 1, Alex Liew did not make the finals.

The 39 men will continue their second block of 8 games Friday morning at the end of which the top 6 will make the cut for the stepladder finals. The women's first block will start shortly after lane maintenance. Detailed scores of Men's 1st Block and Women's 1st Block are available.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

29th September, Singapore: National youth, Sharon Koh put in a superb performance to bag the Youth Girl's Masters title of the 38th Singapore International Open while Chinese Taipei's Ernie Cheng took the Boy's crown at Victor's Superbowl this morning.

Koh, 18 was in her element when she took an early lead in a field of 12 finalist with lines of 194, 214, 211 and 189 after the first 4 games. But a 181 in the fifth allowed challenger, Mai An Ni of Chinese Taipei to narrow the gap. Koh fought on galantly to hang on to a slender lead but a poor 156 in the ninth game saw Mai taking over the lead by a mere 2 pins.

The champion, who won two Gold medals in the Asian Schools championship this year, displayed tremendous fighting spirit to wrestle back the lead with 209 in her final game to snatch a well deserve win with a total of 1922.

Newcomer, Mai An Ni settled for second with a total of 1908 while Singapore National Championship 5 God medalist, Gina Lim finished third with 1867. Low Xin Pin, who made the finals despite being the first

reserve, did well to take fifth spot with 1836 behind fourth-placed, Michelle Tan of Singapore. Other Malaysian national youths, Nur Syakirah Yeoh, Sin Li Jane, Wan Nur Atiqqa finished sixth, seventh and tenth respectively while Penang's Fatin Syazliana took eigth position.

In the boy's division, GP Finals champion, Khairul Hafidz let the title slip through his fingers in his last three games and dropped to fourth. The 18-year-old was leading from the word "Go' but low games of 148, 174 and 153 spoilt his day.

Last year's Cathay Bowl Junior Classic champion and Asian Schools Silver medalist, Ernie Cheng Hsing-Chao snatch the victory with a total of 2117. GP Finals runner-up, Fahmi Bahri finished second with 2041 while Brunei's AK Mohd Aizat pip Khairul for third spot with 2021.

Khairul ended up in fourth with 1975 ahead of other Malaysian youths, Eric Ang (6th-1971), Tengku Afnan (10th-1907), Kelvin Keong (11th-1900) and Afizal Azizan (22nd-1706).

The Men's Open finals will commence shortly after the lane dressing. Detailed scores of Youth Girl's Finals and Youth Boy's Finals are available.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

28th September, Singapore: Malaysian bowlers are slowly making progress as the final day of qualifying in the 38th Singapore International Open ends this evening at Victor's Superbowl.

Two-time National champion, Daniel Lim was on fire at the 3.00pm squad this afternoon when he posted 938 with lines of 235, 232, 226 and 245. This was the 29-year-old's seventh attempt after only managing below the 800-mark in his first six attempts.

"I had to constantly change lines during this attempt as the lanes break down very fast," said Lim. "And I also had to keep a tight line approach which help to carry the pins. I'm happy taht I have made the finals and I hope the same conditions remain during tomorrow's finals.

National youngster, Adrian Ang remained the best Malaysian performer with a score of 969 and was still leading the overseas pool until Jason Belmonte of Australia posted 1018 to take over the lead. The Aussie almost scored the tournament's second perfect game with a 299 in his second game. Belmonte had lines of 215, 299, 268 and 236 to become the first bowler to surpass the 1,000-mark.

Meanwhile, Malaysian women were also making good pregress with Women's World Championship Gold medalist, Esther Cheah improving with 861 to take up third in the overseas pool followed by teammate, Zandra Aziela in fourth with 858.

Shalin Zulkifli and Wendy Chai improved to share second in the mixed pool with 834 followed by Paulette Choy in sixth with 817. While the top spot in the local pool is maintained by Singapore's Jennifer Tan, Indonesia's Putty Armein took over the lead in the overseas pool with a superb 898.

Chinese Taipei's Pan Yu-Fen dropped to second with 890 while 2004 National champion, Jazreel Tan of Singapore improved to take up second to Jennifer in the local pool with 869. Reigning National champion, Jasmine Yeong Nathan dropped one rung to third with 863.

The tournament's first perfect game was scored by Kuwait's Nouri Alamiri. Nouri, who is competing in this region for the first time, posted 182, 214, 300 and 229 for a total of 929.

"I didn't know that there was a $S10,000 cash award for the first bowler until I completed by qualifying round," said the 47-year-old businessman. "So I'm happy to score the first perfect game here and my career third. Detailed scores of Men's O Qualifying and Ladies' O Qualifying are available.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

27th September, Singapore: Leaders maintained top positions in the qualifying leaderboard as the 38th Singapore International Open Bowling Championship enters the last day at Victor's Superbowl.

Tan, the ABF Tour Thailand leg champion, continued to share the overall top spot with Chinese Taipei's Pan Yu-Fen with a score of 880. The Singaporean had skipped the Hong Kong Open two weeks ago due to the centralised training of the national team in preparation for the all-important SEA Games this November.

Second in the table was ABF Tour Indonesia leg runner-up and reigning National champion, Jasmine Yeong Nathan, who posted 863. Although Jasmine is assured of a spot in the finals, she will need to do well to make the cut for the ABF Tour Singapore leg this weekend in order to earn sufficient points to qualify for the ABF Tour - Tournament of Champions in January.

Singapore's Alvin Kwang remained top of the men's division with 998 to lead Jack Wong and Remy Ong with 996 and 985 respectively. Kwang will also be hoping to do well here on home soil to stand a chance to be picked for the SEA Games.

In the overseas pool, Malaysian's youngster and 17-year-old, Adrian Ang led with a score of 969 with Filipino, Tyrone Ongpauco storming into second spot with 967. Indonesia's top bowler, Ryan Lalisang improved to move up to third from the mixed pool with 941.

Tsai Ting-Yun was the best of the Chinese Taipei finisher in fourth with 934 ahead of Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong in fifth with 931. Newcomer, Tran Thien Khiem of Vietnam, competing for the first time, topped the mixed pool with 870.

Qualifying ends tomorrow (28th September) and the Open Masters finals will be contested over two blocks of 8 games each on Thursday and Friday. The top 16 Asian men and women will qualify for the ABF Tour Singapore leg at the end of the Singapore Open masters finals. Detailed scores of Men's O Qualifying and Ladies' O Qualifying are available.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

26th September, Singapore: National youngster, Adrian Ang stormed into the lead of the men's leaderboard in the 28th Singapore International Open Bowling Championship Monday afternoon.

Ang, who retained the Penang State champion's title early this month, has begun to find his form when he posted 969 in difficult conditions to take lead in the overseas pool. The 16-year-old Commonwealth Youth Games All Events Gold medalist will be hoping to do well here to stand a chance of being selected for the coming SEA Games this November.

ABF Tour Hong Kong leg semifinalist, Aaron Kong did well in his second attempt to record a score of 870 to finish eigth in the table. The 2004 Milo International Junior All Stars champion, who was also a semifinalist in the Thailand leg in May will be hoping to go all the way to the finals this time round.

Taking over the overall lead in the men's table was Singapore's Alvin Kwang from overnight leader, Jack Wong. Kwang posted 998 for the top

spot with Jack Wong dropping to second with 996. Third in the local pool came newly-crowned, Hong Kong Open champion, Remy Ong of Singapore with 985.

In the women's division, ABF Tour Thailand leg champion, Jennifer Tan of Singapore and Asian Championship triple Gold medalist, Pan Yu-Fen of Chinese Taipei shared top spot with a score of 880 to take over the lead.

Reigning National Champion and ABF Tour Indonesia leg runner-up, Jasmine Yeong Nathan noted up another superb performance to take second spot with 863 while early leader, Ong She Na of Singapore dropped to third with 860.

Ex-international, Tang Joh Six of Malaysia finished second in the overseas pool with 837 followed by former Singapore national bowler, Yap Seok Kim was third with 810.

Four-time, Asian ranked No. 1, Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia, who skipped two tournaments to complete her university thesis appeared a little rusty and only managing a 790 for seventh position ahead of Zandra Aziela in ninth with 780. Paulette Choy and Wendy Chai were eighth and ninth in the mixed pool with 748 and 745 respectively.

Qualifying continues till 28th September when the top 39 men and top 29 women together with defending champion, Liza Del Rosario will contest the finals over two blocks of 8 games on 29th and 30th September. Detailed scores of Men's O Qualifying and Ladies' O Qualifying are available.

Photos by Terence Yaw, MTBC.

25th September, Singapore: Season campaigner and veteran, Jack Wong of Singapore showed the way by leading the Men's Open Masters qualfying table of the 38th Singapore International Open Bowling Championship underway at Victor's Superbowl.

The 53-year-old ex-international last outing was finishing second runner-up in the Vietnam Open last month despite leading the first block. Wong also finished sixth in the 36th CDL National Championship in June this year.

A good showing in the on-going Singapore Open will add confidence when he defends the Penang Pesta Masters' title this December. Fresh from winning the Hong Kong Open title, national bowler, Remy Ong will also be hoping to do well in the masters to boost his confidence and peak in time for the all-important 23rd SEA Games in Manila in November.

Qatar Open champion, Lee Yu Wen did well to take up third spot ahead of teammate, Shaun Ng in fourth position with 915 while David Wong rounded up the top 5 in fifth spot with 908.

Meanwhile, national bowler, Ong She Na topped the women's leaderboard with a score of 860. Second in the table went to ABF Tour Thailand leg champion, Jennifer Tan with 839 while Rena Teng tied in third with 2004 National champion, Jazreel Tan on 835.

Ong will be hoping to do well in this championship and stand a chance to be picked to represent the country for the SEA Games. 2003 Singapore Open champion, Evelyn Chan rounded up the top 5 with a score of 831.

Reigning National champion, Jasmine Yeong Nathan could only manage a tenth place finish on 781 and will have to improve on her score in order to make the finals. The 16-year-old will also be hoping to finish in the top 16 to make the ABF Tour Singapore leg and earn enough points to qualify for the ABF Tour Tournament of Champions.

The bulk of the overseas participants will be arriving Singapore today and tomorrow and will take on to the lanes for their qualifying rounds. The top 39 men and top 29 women plus the defending champion, Liza Del Rosario of the Philippines, will contest their Masters finals on the 29th and 30th September. Detailed scores of Men's Op Qualifying and Ladies' O Qualifying are available.

Photos by courtesy of SBF.