3/20 Bowlstering BowlStars!

Since there will be no play-by-play reporting for the BowlStar Blog this Friday and until April, I am taking the chance to bolster (BOWLster) up my BowlStars' confidence by sharing with you a poem my anchor inspired me to write, and some words of encouragement for my awesome team, as they face the Bowlinators in my absence. 

My dear Mitchie Pie has improved by leaps and bounds from last year's league.  Through our summer league adventures as the IncrediBOWLs with Chelo, and our shared obsession to improve our games and be true students of the sport, I have found in her a kindred soul.  Her ability to throw three strikes in the 10th frame is uncanny (she did a Mitchie!).  Here is a poem I sent her after our "giyera de patani" V-Day fiasco, which she missed.  She had just had a couple of weeks of sub-par (in her opinion) game nights when this was written, so she was working on a comeback.  Since then she has had very remarkable, consistently excellent performances.  Go my Anchor Batter! 

You're my dear anchor batter

Nobody bowls better

I trust in your talent, my dear

Unbeatable some days

Yet we all have our bum days

So let me be crystal and clear

I have said it before

I will say it once more

You're the best bowler I've ever seen

I may not always show it

But please always know it

On the lanes, my dear, you are my queen

On this journey we're growing

Our best always showing

But our best changes so constantly

So no matter how you play

I will always and ever say

You are the best anchor for me

Many are attempting to steal my anchor from me, I hope she stays with me, but she is not mine to keep....  I want her to win, I want her to progress, I wish her the best, always.  But for now, she is the BowlStar anchor batter and all mine!


Let me not forget my fellow BowlStars, all stellar and remarkable in their own ways. 

• Chelo Babe is a 200 clubber, capable of exploding with her spare master abilities and ultra consistent release.  I had written her a "Top Ten Reasons Why Chelo is an IncrediBOWLicious BowlStar" back in the summer...wouldn't you want to know! Back then the #10 and #1 reasons were "Talo niya si Roy, 'nuff said!", but since then Roy has improved greatly.  Talo pa rin siya ni Chelo, LOL! 
• Secret weapon String: when she is on, she is ON, baby!  She can be a 200 clubber when least expected.  Potential is there...
• And last year, we could only dream of bowling like our legendary Liz.  My dream girl Lizzie Babe, you are our original idol and our "glue" = know that we absolutely believe in you and know that your inner BowlStar that we know and love will come out to play again.  Hala!

OK, my BowlStars, I know you will do me proud. 

As for all you Philly Pinoy bowlers, I wish y'all a good night at the lanes.  Go buy your 50/50 ticket coz you may be the lucky winner tonight!  I will see you at fun night on April 5, where I hope to bowl a 300 game with 8-pin no-tap like my GoPapa Joel.    In the meantime I am headed for a beach with a bowling alley, HEAVEN!

Bowl, baby, bowl!

3/15 Magic Pancit

Tonight the BowlStars were up against the Bowleros, our kompadres on the lanes, our buddies in the regular Sunday Night Bowling Club at the Palace.  As early as last week, I was already inspired to compose a song for them, to the tune of "My Sharona" (naks, 80s! rock on!).  Here it goes:

 

 

Sa bolingan matatagpo

Naglalaro

Hanep ang galing nga po

My Bowleros!

Hay sila'y matipuno

Magalang po

Sa laban ay matinik nga po

My Bowleros!

O sige na

Tira na

At tatawa pa

Desi'y sasayaw

Sa kantiyaw

Sige tagay pa

Strike ng strike ng strike whoa!

Maawa ka, Bowleros!

Ayayayay Bowleros!

Pag kasama mo sila

O kay saya

Sa practice magtuturo pa

My Bowleros!

Kay misis ay areglado

Supportado

Sa pakain ay busog tayo

My Bowleros!

O sige na

Tira na

O kay serious na -

Dennis, Carlo, Art

Desi din

Sige laban na

Strike ng strike ng strike whoa!

My-ayayay Bowleros!

 

 

O di ba, bongga?  Love ko kasi sila, tinuturuan pa kami ni Dennis sa practice.  At siempre, patok pag sumasayaw si Desi: body language ala bold star (daig ang BowlStars!).  Kakatuwa silang kasama.  And of course, kwelang kwela sina Ate Alice and Ate Cari, number one fans, pinapakain kami niyan, talap-talap!  They had yummy pancit in tow, salamat po!  Pero game on...let's all do our best!  We wished them well, I wanted us all to play well, walang bigayan, we would have to "steal" wins from each other!  Here is a photo of My Bowleros from the Philly Pinoy Facebook page.

 

My Bowleros! (L-R): ART Coronado, DESI Mercado, DENNIS Navarrete and CARLO Ola

 

Honestly, I also had an alternate "wishful thinking" version of the song, kasi I was hopeful that we could get lucky and pull off a win.  So here is the short version I shared with my gals:

 

 

Go go Mitchie Pie

Chelo Babe

Stringaling at Jing

Go my Bowlstars go

Fight ng fight

Let's get hot tonight

Strike ng strike ng strike whoa!

 

Go go go go my BowlStars!

Playing tonight on the BowlStar line up were Chelo, String/Chona, me and Mitchie Pie. Liz came for morale support - love yah, Lizzie Babe! On the Bowleros lineup were Carlo, Desi, Art and Dennis. Anchor butter with a U daw si Dennis, katapat ni Mitchie our anchor batter with an A!  We had our red BowlStar uniforms on, and it was an all red pit, with the Bowleros wearing their red turtleneck shirts from last year (except for Dennis in black, hindi daw niya mahanap yung pula...).  So before the games began, we all yelled "Go RED Team!" Sa pula, sa pula!

Naku, lagot na, they started out hot.  They were hard to match, frame by frame, coz they kept getting marks!  Buti nalang hot na hot din si Chelo at Mitchie = they played so well, I was so proud, you carried the team!  Chelo got all her right hand spares all night, using her spare ball, hallelujah, so so good (I need to learn that trick...).  And Mitchie had a score in the mid 170s, galing galing!  Chona was struggling like me but hang in there = thank you for fighting so hard, my Stringalingers!  I was playing so badly, I started sitting with the Bowleros = baka mahawa daw ako sa kagalingan nila.  But this was completely ineffective in that first game, I got a dismal 117, ayayay....  In the end, the red hot Bowleros scorched us, and we lost by more than 60 pins.  Maawa ka, Bowleros!  Sabi ko uwian na, di na ako marunong magboling, buwiset!  Kakain nalang ako ng pancit....

 

So what was in the pancit?  What magic was cooked into it?  What was in it that suddenly made me "bowl like Bernard" in the second game?  Did sitting with the Bowleros make me steal Carlo's mojo?  Dami ko pang tanong....  Found my line in the second game, got 4 strikes in a row (first time evah evah evah!), got real close to a 200 game but missed a 4-pin spare in the 10th frame (that is NOT like Bernard...), so sayang, settled for a 191 = but I'm a BowlStar, baby, whoo hoo!  Thank you to the bowling gods, for granting redemption from my Game 1 fiasco.  I am glad I did not head home....  Ayaw na akong pa-upo-in ng Bowleros sa tabi nila, pero kapag sila'y pina-paypay-an ko, oks lang.  Go go go BowlStars, nang dahil sa spectacular play ng team (as in, strike ng strike ng strike whoa!), coupled with some bad breaks for my ayayay Bowleros, the BowlStars were able to win the second game by around 50 pins.  Whoo hoo, go my beloved team!  Tied with momentum on our side...

 

And it was neck and neck in the third game.  We were getting distracted, getting wind of losses for Ball In (vs. Bowlcoholics) and Hall of Framers (vs. Bowlinators), and also Spare Me (vs. Bowlerines).  Seemed like a night for underdogs (and BowlDawgs too, di ba?): GO TEAM!  We were keeping up with the Bowleros' play, frame by frame, and throwing our share of strikes and spares - tapatan at sagutan, battle royale!   I guess I stole Carlo's mojo. I may have even stolen Art's slot with the Bowleros. (Nirerecruit na nga po!  Pumasa sa audition! Pero sabi lang nila yon, you are too kind....)  Desi was not dancing much tonight.  And Dennis's dancing was not making the pins fall, until he got a double in the 8th and 9th frames.  So it was a close one in the 10th frame of the third game with Dennis and Mitchie left to play.  The third game was seemingly ours but total pins were on the line.  Alas, Dennis got a 5,10-split he could not convert, while Mitchie threw a spare and a strike.  So miracles of miracles, thanks to the magic pancit, the bowling gods, and maybe an Irish Leprechaun, we WON 3-1.  UnBOWLievable but true.... 

 

Thank you to the Bowleros for making us fight for it, coz we had to REALLY fight hard for it, and we know we got lucky, sinuwerte kami.  We are deeply honored to have fought this battle with your merry band of bowling gladiators.  You are great sports and true gentlemen, totoong magalang po. 

 

Chelo was hot hot hot all night, all her scores way above her average, super galing galing, that's my SpareMaster Chelo Babe! Stringalingababe's ball kept making left turns but she threw her share of strikes and spares, thanks in part to Chelo, the Ball Whisperer, for the sisterly coaching she gave Chonachons, very effective, love it love it love it.   My anchor batter Mitchie delivered once more, another stellar night! I did my part (in the second and third games) to help our team pull off our stunning upset. My scores of 117, 191 and 176 give me a 484 series and 161 average for the night, increasing my Philly Pinoy league average to 154 (bow). Sing with me, bebe:

 

 

O sige na

Laban na

May pagasa pa

Go my Bowlstars go

Tira pa

Mananalo na

Strike ng strike ng strike whoa! 

Go go go go my BowlStars!

 

 

I am thinking of creating the BowlStar album, puro kanta na rin lang ang blog ko, para marinig ninyo ang aking "renditions"... Pero saka na ha, matutulog na akwowowo!

 

Bowlero Desi won $27 from the 50/50 raffle tonight = he is WINNER!  May pambayad na si Desi sa liga!  Sorry, we no longer announced it, coz when we checked the tickets amongst ourselves, we found out who won already, so no use creating false hope by making everybody look at their tickets, papaasahin pa kayo ng wala!  Great job once again with the raffles, Ms. Alice M with help from the Philly Pinoy ladies. 

 

This is my last blog entry until April.  The Capucaos are missing the last week of Philly Pinoy League regulation play for vacay in the Philippine Islands = sayang, I wanted to try to get my 200 game next week, my saga continues....  We will be back on April 5, which is looking to be a Philly Pinoy fun night (planning stages pa, to be confirmed shortly), which is good coz we will be jetlagged.  I want a 300 game with 8-pin no-tap like my GoPapa Joel!  No hope for lowest score, the way my spare shooting has been recently....  Let's get excited, Philly Pinoy bowlers, it's been a night of upsets, and the planned fun night should give us good practice for a fabulous finals night!

 

On Sunday morning from 9 am -12 noon, I am prebowling for the two Wednesday Night Women's League nights that I will be missing.  Y'all are welcome to join me. 

 

Next week the BowlStars play the Bowlinators, another Sunday Bowling Club special event.  Go my BowlStars, play well in my absence and keep on fighting!  Shine like the stars you are (as my daughter Joey's song goes).  Bowl, baby, bowl! 

 

3/8 Bowl Like Bernard! (Just Wanna Win Once/One)

It was supposed to be Girls Night Out (GNO) tonight with the BowlStars up against the other (technically) all girls team in the league, the beautiful Bowlerines: Alice, Grace, Lanie and my idol Rachel.  Bernard is their sub, so technically (but not anatomically) all girls sila.  We are all friends, amigas y amigo (ole!), but all hungry for a win so it was going to be a fun night regardless of the outcome. 

But their lineup tonight was NOT all girls but "us girls + Bernard", with Grace, Alice, Rachel and Bernard (subbing for Lanie) on the Bowlerine lineup.  Up for the BowlStars were Chona/String playing for Chelo tonight, then we had Liz, me and Mitchie.  Naku, matindi ito, we have to play well!  They are definitely a different team with Bernard in the lineup.  The picture below is from Week 2, taken by Mary Ann Liboon and originally posted on the Philly Pinoy Facebook page.

 

 The Bowlerines (L-R): BERNARD Landayan, GRACE Que, ALICE Deo and RACHEL Ditan

Not in picture is LANIE Santos

Thanks to Cyndi Lauper for my blog song tonight, which has been playing in my head since yesterday:

Bowling
On a Friday night

My BFF BowlStars
We're feeling alright

We love the Bowlerines
Tonight will be fun

But we just want to win once

Us girls (and Bernard), we want to win once

 

That's all we really want

To have fun (and win once)

We feel good
We look good, we play good

And yes, we really have fun

But tonight, we want to win once!

 

Laban lumaban

Walang kaibi-kaibigan, kaibigan

Walang pakiusapan-usapan

Ang score ay paghatian-hatian

Hating kaibigan....

We started out slow and with some technical difficulties, as we could not update the lineups on our lanes, nor press the red key to start the games!  The BowlStars were trulily feeling mightily fine and were playing quite well, but none of us could "Bowl Like Bernard" (as in "Move Like Jagger").  Super X-rated talaga si Mr. Landayan, super excellent, what a bowling idol!  So consistent a striker, what can we say or do?  Sambahin....  And to top it off, ang galing-galing din naman nilang lahat!  Grace was throwing some good balls (naks, getting better!), and Alice and Rachel were stellar, as always, showing why they are among the top lady bowlers in our league!  So the BowlStars fought hard and well, and all had scores at and above our averages, but the Bowlerines were hot hot hot, smoldering hot.  So, sayang, we lost the first game by around 30 pins.

We got lucky on the second game.  It was neck and neck from frame to frame, and with Bernard having another series of strikes going into the last frame, my utak-brain could not calculate if we were ahead or behind or what...  Once Bernard bowled his last ball, it was clear that we were ahead with Mitchie still not done with the 10th frame.  Whoo hoo and wowowie, the bowling gods smiled at the BowlStars.  So sing with me, bebe: "That's all we really want, to win ONE!"  Nakaisa, yebah!  Tied na, uwian na daw, ha-che-che!

Last game, last chance, and boy, was it a struggle for the BowlStars.  Thank goodness, our anchor batter Mitchie remained solid and consistent.  Our balls were suwail = mine kept escaping from me due to sweaty palm syndrome, which when (over)corrected, became sticky fingers syndrome, bastos!  But of course we kept fighting coz it ain't over till it's over!  The Bowlerines simply bowled us over, nilampaso, massacred really, with about 150 pins advantage, which is equivalent to another bowler!  Grace was throwing strikes and getting spares (even 10-pin spares, that is blog-worthy!) under the tutelage of Bernard the Bowlmaster = hanep, bilib na ako kay Grace, fighter, with lots of style points, of course!  Alice, the birthday girl, had an awesome night, super galing, strike master!  And of course, my idol, Rachel, still and always will be my idol, so consistent, so cool under pressure, super galing talaga.  While killing us with her deadly game, she was letting me know how much I have improved, remembering how we used to practice together on Thursday nights before league last year...those were the days...love you much for your generous heart, my dear, and your invaluable tips!  And last but not least, we were lambasted and blown to bits by the Bowlmaster himself, Bernard.  It was so great to bowl with greatness.  We all did our best, it was so much fun, it was great to play with y'all, galing-galing!   Unbelievably, with all their firepower, we happened to give the formidable Bowlerines their first WIN: as the song goes "Yes, (they) want to win once" and they did win this ONCE!  And we wanted to win too, and we won ONE! 

Anchor Mitchie, my anchor batter, had scores all in the 170-180 range tonight, what a winner! Liz was at and above average tonight, keep on fighting, girl! My secret weapon String is still a secret for now, but one of these days she will explode like she does at practice and will blow y'all away = yah, better believe it, girl, you are capable of it, I have seen it with my own two eyes (kahit duling kita ko pa rin!).  As for me, I can only dream to someday "Bowl Like Bernard" or even to "Bowl Like Rachel" (idol!) or Alice or Mitchie = ang gagaling ninyong lahat tonight, you are the very best! But for now, masaya nalang ako na hindi ako masyadong nagkalat, lumaban ako till the end.  My GoPapa Joel said that the top four women bowlers actually played each other tonight.  Rachel is far and away our #1, and Mitchie and Alice are both up there with her.  And unBOWLieavably kasama na pala ako doon, naks!  I'm a BowlStar, baby!   I have come a long way from last year's 105 average (had a 165 average tonight, my league average will increase to 153).  Pero dapat lang umabante ako dahil laman ako ng bolingan, at patuloy akong mag-eensayo nang lalo pa akong gumaling, at manalo naman kami!   Sing along, mga kapatid!

Someday I'll Bowl Like Bernard

Someday I'll Bowl Like Bernard

Someday I'll BOWL

Like Bernard....

Congratulations to our 50/50 raffle winner Romy Liboon, who got a whopping $33 from the pot.  Romy, may pambayad ka na sa liga next week!  Our pot is pushing $200, which is mighty awesome!  I may sound like a broken record but I need to keep saying it: galing talaga ni Ms Alice magbenta!  THANK YOU (bow)!

Lots of exciting games tonight just like last week, we will be waiting with bated breath for the update from Commish Jay, ang galing parati ng recap niya, rivetting!  

Time flies, only two more weeks to go in regulation play and the BowlStars seem to be stuck in 8th place.  We play the Bowleros next week = pakakainin daw kami ng pancit in exchange for a win...hmmm, let me think about that, not!  We play the Bowlinators last, and I am missing that last game as I will be RP-bound.  Ang bilis naman, can't believe it is almost over when it feels like it has just began....

Till next week, y'all....  Bowl, baby, bowl!

 

3/1 I Dreamed a Dream...

 So what song was playing in my head this week, when the BowlStars were up against the formidable #1 team Ball In?  What else, but Les Miz's I Dreamed A Dream, coz I love Anne Hathaway's rendition.  Here goes the first part of my version, I was going to see how I would end the song tonight: tragedy ba ala Fantine, or surprisingly happy ending against all odds? 

I dreamed a dream deep in my soul:

That we could win against team Ball In....

We practiced hard to reach this goal

Ito ba'y aming kakayanin?

My BowlStar core team played tonight: Chelo, Liz, me and our anchor batter Mitchie.  We had good games last week, and played some good practice games this week, so I felt we were prepared (hence the song...). 

Playing for team Ball In were Eric (not remotely related to the Calamba Alvarez clan on my Nanay's side), Nonoy, Francis and Joel D, photo below from Week 1 c/o our very own Chelo and originally posted on the Philly Pinoy Facebook page. 

Ball In (L-R): JOEL Deo, ERIC Alvarez, NONOY Rocero and FRANCIS Carangan

Since last week was the Marlon Paed show, I was asking Francis, my katapat, if this week was going to be the Francis Carangan Show...hmmm.  The BowlStars were surprised our handicap was a kuripot 71 pins only, tila madaya at dapat doble yon, ah?   After throwing some good practice shots (ooh, the lanes were DRY!), we wished each other a blog-worthy match, and the games were on!

So mukha pang may pagasa kami sa simula, coz we started out well.  Mitchie was especially hot, and the guys kept saying "Buti pa kayo, may anchor, tingnan niyo naman ang anchor namin", which of course would result in Joel throwing a bad ball or getting a split, kawawa naman, inapi ng kakampi!  But then the NONOY ROCERO SHOW started, with Nonoy getting a whopping SIX strikes in a row!  Nabale wala ang 71 pin advantage, we were absolutely blown away by tropical typhoon Nonoy (signal number 3).  But we kept fighting, go my BowlStars!  I was struggling with my Spinderella and just kept trying to keep up with my katapat Francis. By the last frame of the first game, it was surprisingly CLOSE, quite unBOWLievable, really.  Magkakatotoo ba ang panaginip ko, the dream I dreamed?  My BowlStars were stellar and stepped up to the plate, with Chelo and Liz playing above their averages = great job, gals!  I struggled and ended up losing by one point to my katapat Francis (scores 126 vs 127, ugh).  Mitchie proved her mettle as our anchor woman, with strikes that made it possible to TIE, down to the last pin!  So proud, what a performance, but alas, we lost by one heartbreaking pin, ONE PIN!  That got us excited: even with a 219 game from Nonoy who had 6 straight strikes, we got close to getting a win.  Kaya natin 'to!  Pero Diyos na mahabagin, first game pa lang, grabe sa excitement, hihikain ako, galing-galing!

Second game was super neck-neck, ang lapit ng laban throughout.  Whenever we would get ahead, they would get their share of marks.  Francis was determined not to lose to me, ayaw magpatalo, kaya naman hindi ko na siya mahabol sa second game.  Concede, concede to the FRANCIS CARANGAN SHOW, galing-galing! Everybody from both teams played at and above our averages, but in the end, the guys took the game by 22 pins.  Since their win once again came down to the 10th frame, we reminded each other that we could still get a win: malapit pa rin ang laban, laging may pag-asa, laban laban LABAN!

In Game 3, I vowed not to lose to Francis, which I accomplished, whoo hoo!  Tie daw kami, coz I won one game and total pins in our tapatan, although sabi niya panalo siya dahil sa handicap, ngeh!  It was looking like a repeat performance of the ERIC ALVAREZ SHOW, as he had gotten an incrediBOWL 256 scratch game last week = he ended up with a 190, awesome play!  Anak ng tokwa, kahit pala wala silang anchor, they could all step up to the plate and anchor the team, super galing kasi nilang lahat!

Photo-finish once again ang ending ng third game, down to the final frame, anchor vs. anchor, Mitchie vs. Joel.  Mitchie delivered, and Joel had a split he could not convert into a mark, so we won by 8 pins!  NAKAISA kami! 

Against all odds, still can't believe it.  My dear Mitchie Pie was hot all night, had scores in the 170s-180s and a 179 average tonight = she truly delivered, yabadabadoo!  Chelo had awesome 153 and 144 scores and an average tonight of 138 = you go, girl!  Liz struggled tonight but played above average in the first and second games = you are still my secret weapon, dahling, keep on believin'! 

So here is the rest of the song, tune starts where "the tigers come at night":

BowlStars played real well tonight

Nahirapan ang team Ball In

We did not give up the fight

And we proudly got one WIN......   

I dreamed a dream and it came true

Our fight was close against team Ball In

My BowlStars, I'm so proud of you

Galing-galing ng team natin!

Actually my dream was we swept Ball In = asa pa ako! But why not, right?  It WAS close!  It was NOT impossible!  Sayang, but still proud of the fact that it was close.  Same with my 200 game, I got close with my 188 score in the last game so it is not impossible! Had a 157 average for the night and a 473 series. If not for my 126 in the first game, it could have been better.   I will keep dreaming and working hard. Laman pa rin ng bolingan...

Notable notes (and some UNOFFICIAL results): 

• Chelo won $36 from the 50/50 raffle tonight = go Alice M, our raffle queen!  Sa dami ng bumibili nananalo tayo ng limpak-limpak na salapi!
• The Bowlerines were playing the BowlDawgs in the lanes to the right of us.  The BowlDawgs were sweeping them, but they had a chance to win the third game.  It came down to Rachel's last throw, where she needed a strike to win the game.  She got a nine and so the last game was tied (each team gets 1/2 point).
• Jops Datu of the Lords and of the Lanes (LOL for short) had a fabulous series, with average in the 210+ range = awesome!  They split 2-2 with the Bowlcoholics.  My GoPapa Joel is holding steady and playing well, so proud!

We will be playing against the Bowlerines next week = should be FUN, GNO! Sorry but Bernard is not allowed to sub next week, unless he wears a tutu! Kaya nga Girl's Night Out eh...

Till then, keep shining, keep smiling, knowing you can always count on me being at the lanes practicing.  I'm a BowlStar, baby!  Bowl, baby, bowl!

2/22 The Marlon Paed Show (SPARED!)

Tonight was when the Philly Pinoy League Week 2 games (which were postponed from their original January 25 date) were scheduled to be played, and the BowlStars were set to play Spare Me.  Alas, when the sheets were received from Palace, Commish Jay indicated that Palace had set us up for Week 6 scheduled games.  Upon discussion with the team captains, it was decided that we would proceed with the originally planned Week 2 games.  Whew, dodged a bullet there.... Next week's game for the BowlStars is with the indomitable Ball In, merciless and relentless, we were not mentally prepared for them.  Glad we stuck to the original schedule, and also glad that the Palace folks put in the matchups into the system for us, many thanks to the Commish for making that happen!

I was hopeful that I had recovered from my dismal performance last week *hikbi* a memory I had tried to erase with 8 practice games on Sunday morning (thanks for joining me for half of those, Bowlinator Romy!), and a not so bad performance at league on Wednesday night.  I was only bowling with one ball, though, sticking with my Spinderella Ebonite Cyclone, which loves the dry lanes better than my colorful Misfit Beast Ball.  I was ready to rumble with my one ball, yeah, baby!

So we were back at lanes 21-22, same lanes as last week, but we were hopeful we would play better this week on the same lanes.  Baka naman mas gamay na namin....  Playing tonight with us were the men of Spare Me: Marlon, Jonathan and Bob, together with Arlene's blind.  The Spare Me Team photo below was taken by Mary Ann Liboon on Week 2 of play, and was originally posted on the Philly Pinoy FaceBook page.  Go, men in blue!

Spare Me (L-R): BOB Wolfgang, AIDA Wolfgang, JONATHAN Assidao, NOVELYN Assidao, ARLENE Fetterolf and MARLON Paed

On the BowlStar lineup was the core team of Chelo, Liz, me and my anchor batter Mitchie. Our sub and lucky charm Chona/String was there for much needed morale support. The Bowlstars had their red BowlStar uniform shirts, which Bob said was the winner for best uniform in the league = thank you! David Bowie's song "Let's Dance" was playing in my head, my version, of course:

Let's BOWL

Put on your red shirts and bowl with me

Let's play

With cool spares and big strikes

Let's all have a big night!

The practice throws were looking good, nasindak si Jonathan, who kept searching for a better house ball, which he eventually found.  Both teams stated out hot, exchanging strikes and spares, oh my!  Ang gagaling namin! Pero kunwari lang pala, coz the strikes and spares gave way to more open frames.  As Game 1 progressed, the BowlStars started to pull away.  Marlon played just above his average, Jonathan struggled but Bob had a 151 game = awesome play!  Chelo was a true BowlStar, staying hot the whole game and scoring a remarkable 173, whoo hoo!  Liz needed more brakes on her sliding sole (muntik nang sumubsob sa lane!) but eventually shined with her lipstick red ball, playing an awesome 133 game = that's the Liz I know, yebah!  I did not start hot but eventually got marks and ended with a 157 = I'm back, baby!  Mitchie found her groove early and kept on coming, racking up 146 pins = go, my anchor batter!  So the Bowlstars took Game 1 with a whopping 100 pin advantage.  Go Team!  Feeling good.  What a start!

As Game 2 began, Marlon said he needed to match Chelo. Uuuy, match-up of the week: tapatan = Marlon vs. Chelo daw!  Tapos, kayang-kaya daw ni Jonathan kaming dalawa ni Liz, ayayay!  Sabi namin papanalunin naman nila kami, hindi pa kami nananalo.  Sabi ni Marlon, sanay na daw sila doon, ay, sorry!  While Game 2 was playing, an announcer for a big event kept screeching on the microphone, so when we made good shots, we would start screeching loudly, too. I somehow tended to leave one pin, that would eventually drop when my back was turned = strike pala, yabadabadoo, I'll take that any day!  It became contagious, as Bob started getting the same lucky strikes, hala bira!   The game was mighty close, though, trulily neck-and-neck, tied in the 10th frame.  Hihikain yata ako, can't breathe, super exciting!

Both Marlon and Chelo struggled (talagang tapatan!) but Marlon won the Game 2 Marlon vs. Chelo match-up = uuy, tied na sila!  Jonathan was starting to get the hang of his ball, and started inching towards his average.  Liz played even better on the second game, scoring an awesome 140, hanep talaga!  So, I put on my game face, my "let's get some 10th frame strikes" face, and was rewarded with two strikes and a 9, ending with an (I'll take it!) 181 = I'm a BowlStar (with my clothes on...)!  Bob continued doing great, getting a fantabulous 147, good job!  But the game went to the BowlStars, when my beloved anchor batter, Mitchie, did her thang and got her share of two strikes and nine pins in the 10th frame, scoring a fabulous 156 with her Ebonite "circus" ball.  Talk about a 10th frame fist fight, we won that game by around 60 pins, all in the 10th frame.  Hallelujah, nangangamoy mananalo sa wakas, whoo hoo!

The BowlStars were losing steam in the 3rd game, which I started with an ultra-brain farty gutter ball, uggh.  Whadaheck?  Recover, recover, keep fighting, my BowlStars, but the curse of the open frame had hit Chelo, Liz and me.  Good thing, Mitchie was immune, starting the game with a cool double = go circus ball!  But, man, Game 3 was truly THE MARLON PAED SHOW: super hot ang anak ng tipaklong!  The Marlon vs. Chelo matchup became the "OMG, can the BowlStars ever catch up to Marlon?" match-up, as the spares and strikes kept coming off his hot hand, while our wayward balls kept missing the darn pins (kakanta na ba ulit ako ng PinFalls?).  Darn, even Jonathan was getting lots of spares and strikes.  Although Bob was struggling, his teammates were playing up a storm.  The game was still close though = we needed to keep fighting and we needed marks in the 10th frame! 

Alas, there were no BowlStar marks in the final frame except from our dear anchor Mitchie, who played a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious 159 game, hubba hubba hubba!  Liz played above her average, way to go, I am so very proud!  THE MARLON PAED SHOW ended with Marlon garnering an incrediBOWL, unbelievaBOWL and faBOWLous 177 score = anak ng fill in the blank, concede, concede!  Jonathan was also a star, playing above his average and getting a 134, anak ng ewan ko ba, ang galing-galing nila!  Painfully, we lost the third game by TEN PINS.  Oh the humanity!  Oh the missed opportunity!  Spare Me, spare me!  Truly truly have to hand it to our opponents, they fought hard and played well: great job sparing yourselves from a sweep, nasilat pa ang waliswis kawayan!  We had fun playing with you, you are true champions in our books.

Spare Me's MARLON Paed of tonight's Marlon Paed Show

So the BowlStars had their first winning night, 3-1 against Spare Me.  I had a great night, ending with a 494 series and 164 average for the night, which should bring my Philly Pinoy league average back up to 150, say!  Chelo played at her average, Liz had a 130 average, and Mitchie was winner with a 153 average.  We did our best, kept on fighting, and did as well as we could tonight, so proud of my team!

For some unofficial results, Bowlinators were swept by BowlDawgs, Bowlerines were swept by Ball In, Bowlcoholics were swept by Hall of Framers, and our beloved Lords of the Lanes only got one win against the Bowleros.  Notable performances were Ball In's Eric who had a  super X-rated and strike-ridden 256, Bowlero Desi also had a 200+ game, and my GoPapa Joel had a 202 = hanep!  So very happy that my GoPapa got a 200+ game (he had a truly stellar night, I am so happy and proud!), but sad that they lost tonight.... 

The Bowlerine vs Ball In match-up was another "giyera de patani" with Bowlerine Alice Deo up against Ball In Joel Deo, pero walang patawad ang Ball In, kahit isang game, kahit half game, walang binigay!  Next week's "giyera de patani" match-up will be Bowlerines vs. BowlDawgs, with Bowlerine Grace Que up against BowlDawg James Que = bring it on, eh!  One thing is for sure, this week's results should be interesting, abangan kay Commish!

Speaking of the Commish, Jay Lizardo was the lucky winner of the 50/50 raffle tonight, winning $30 from the pot, congratulations!  We shall see if Jay wins again next week, just like Alice won two weeks in a row, and then Romy won two weeks in a row (Twilight Zone?).  To date, after 5 weeks of play, we have netted $140 from the 50/50 raffles = wow, limpak limpak na salapi!  This is thanks in LARGE part to our 50/50 raffle queen, galing-galing, Alice Mercado.  Sa inyong lahay, salamat ng maraming marami sa inyong patuloy na pagtangkilik.  Bili na, para manalo naman!

I have two lanes reserved for practice again on Sunday morning at the Palace from 10 am to noon, y'all are welcome to join me.  I am extremely happy that we were spared (SPARED!) from ultra dismal play this week, but I am praying that we play even better next week coz we will need it, we will need to be at the top of our games: A-Game MUST be present against Ball In!  Ako naman daw ang makaka 200 game = I wish, ano?  Pero bakit hindi, I'm a BowlStar, baby!

Hanggang sa muli...  Bowl, baby, bowl!

2/15 Battle of the Lima Beans (Don't Cry for Me...)

Tonight was when the much awaited Valentine's Day Battle of the Lima Beans (giyera de patani) between the BowlStars and the Lords of the Lanes would play out.  Wives versus husbands, gals versus guys, the big battle of the sexes: who was going to be outside the kulambo (mosquito net) tonight?

We were on lanes 21 and 22, and were missing the Masangas.  Ivan and Mitchie had tickets to the opera tonight, but they were represented by their son Ben, who subbed for Ivan tonight.  In the lineup for the Lords of the Lanes were Ben, Roy, my GoPapa (their Lord Overlord) Joel, and Jops.  In the BowlStar lineup were Chelo, Chona/String, Liz and me, as anchor batter.  The Lords of the Lanes had their construction orange shirts, while we had out new sparkly black and white shirts (not in picture).  Photos below were taken by Mary Ann Liboon and Liz Datu and were originally posted on the Philly Pinoy FaceBook page = thank you to our photographers!

The Lords of the Lanes (L-R): ROY Compendio, JOPS Datu, IVAN Masanga and JOEL Capucao

The BowlStars (L-R): JING Capucao, MITCHIE Masanga, LIZ Datu and CHELO Compendio

(CHONA/STRING Aquino was actually behind the camera on this one...)

It was Bowlero Dennis's 20th birthday today (pangalawang 20th lang daw ito!), which we celebrated with yummy pancit c/o Alice Mercado.  Hall of Framer Angie got pizzas and soda for all to share.  Happy Birthday and thank you for the delicious food! 

And so the games began.  Both teams started out hot, getting strikes and marks in the first frames.  Chona/String started with a TURKEY, whoo hoo!  Francis of team ball In, in the next pit playing against the BowlDawgs, kept reminding me to remember what Chona had done, so I could report it in the blog.  Good to hear that folks are reading the blog = meron naman palang nagbabasa ng blog ko!   I do feel bad that I could not remember how she did last week.  Tonight I kept trying to play right after String, since I was used to playing right after her.  Had to keep reminding myself that I was playing after Liz.  Not used to being the anchor batter....

Eventually as the first game progressed, the BowlStars started pulling away as the Lords of the Lanes struggled.  "Relentless" were the words Roy used.  Oh yeah, fight fight fight!  Chona was a true sparkly BOWLSTAR, with a stellar 160 game, her best game evah evah evah!  Chelo played a 141, yaba daba doo!  Liz and I hang in there as best we could, as the BowlStars appeared to get a win by  maybe around 10-20 pins, but had to wait for confirmation, as Ben had no handicap yet.  Looking good, gals!

Shout out to Francis, who slipped on the lanes but then recovered to play a 191 game.  When he slipped, he immediately asked me not to put it in the blog...(bad, I still mentioned it).  As he was trying to clean up the bottom of his shoe, I handed him my shoe brush, which he then tried to brush his hair with = ayayay!  After his fabulous game, he asked that I mention how well he did = looks like he should fall so he can rise above.  Great job! Galing-galing!

As the second game began, the BowlStars struggled struggled struggled as the Lords of the Lanes got hot hot hot.  Our advantage quickly dissipated as we fought to find our groove.  We all ended up playing below our averages, as we conceded the second game.  So frustrating, Liz was starting not to want to high-five Jops in the heat of the game, oops!  My dear GoPapa Joel was trying to help me out by saying my timing was a bit off, which did help me a bit although I continued to struggle (thanks, my sweetie!).  Great play from our hubbies though, they fought back after we defeated them.  It was tied now, 1-1.  Keep fighting, gals, it ain't over till the last frame of the last game!

But the momentum was with the Lords of the Lanes, who showed their true mettle.  Kaya naman kami na-in love sa kanila, they are matipunong lalaki, idol!  They were like kryptonite to us gals, we were fighting hard but the pins were not falling our way, and our balls were wayward, bastos, suwail.  It was getting hot in the pit and I started fanning everybody = the cool air seemed to result in a few marks from the BowlStars, wish I had started the fanning sooner!  In the last frame, we vowed to fight.  We could still win if we all get turkeys = hey it could happen, right? Wrong! No, it did not happen, asa pa kami...  Chona and Liz both scored a 121 = above average, great play!  Chelo was  slightly below average and I was kadiri-diri dismal.  However the Lords were all above average, even Ben who played better than all of the BowlStars.  Jops capped it off with a turkey and a 203 game, napakasakit, Kuya Eddie.  Roy had excellent scores all through the night, averaging in the 170s and ending with a 513 series.  My GoPapa Joel had a 494 series while Jops had a whopping 530 series.  Ben ended with a 104 average after his last game was in the 130s.  Glad to have inspired such excellent play from you, our dears, we are so proud, y'all did great!

After Ben's average and handicap were calculated, we determined that the BowlStars won the first game by around 20 pins, but the Lords of the Lanes won the 2nd game, 3rd game and total pins.  Congratulations to our hubbies!  We are glad we won one game against y'all.  No, you are not outside the kulambo, we love you no matter what, and we are glad y'all played well. It was fun playing against you, although it would have been funner if we had won (my opinion, bad loser!).

Actually, it would have been funner for me if I had played better.  After doing so well for the past couple of weeks (see my JingGalBowls blog), I was very hopeful that my happy streak of league nights with a 150+ average would continue.  I had a nagging feeling it would somehow end with a "humility check" and so here it is.  My scores were all in the 120's = that's 30 pins below my average.  I let my team down on the one night I anchored for them, nakakaiyak. *hikbi*  *singhot*  I am so sorry, my BowlStars, there is a reason why Mitchie is our anchor batter, I could not step up to the plate like she does.  I am happy to be your lider baboy, and I will always fight and do my best for you.  Sometimes our best is not good enough, but we never give up!  I will practice again tomorrow morning and Sunday morning and maybe even Monday night, and I will get better again!  I will live to fight another day: fight fight FIGHT! 

Siempre, magtutula ako ngayon, ano, dahil feel na feel ko ang aking pagka depressed sa sama ng laro ko!  Here is my version of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina", which hopefully expresses clearly my deep regret for my dismal performance:

It somehow had to happen

I had to suck

Been playing too well for two weeks

But I still had my doubts after all that I'd done

You must believe me

That I did my best, that I fought for each pin

But my scores were too painful to see

Nakakaiyak na kasi

 

Don't cry for me, oh my BowlStars

The truth is I lost my timing

And my spare shooting

Was non-existent

I vow to practice

I'll do better, promise...

 

 

Tama na ang drama...nuff said.  

 

Alice M was back tonight to take care of the 50/50 raffle.  Our winner, drawn by pretty princess Camille Lizardo, was no other than Romy Liboon, who got $25 from the pot!  Hmm, I notice a trend here: Alice D won twice, and now Romy has won twice.  Wow, we should REALLY buy more tickets now, you could be the next lucky TWO TIMES winner of the 50/50 raffle!  Whoo hoo!

 

So next week the BowlStars are up against Spare Me.  We must prevail, my BowlStars, we must do well and triumph.  May the bowling gods Spare Me from dismal play against Spare Me, ayayay!

 

See y'all next week, Philly Pinoy Bowlers!  Bowl, baby, bowl!

 

;)

 

 

2/8 Having a Ball with Two Balls

ERRATA  AND ADDENDUM (2/11/2013):  I updated the outcome of the Hall of Framers vs. BowlDawgs match, which I had incorrectly reported as a sweep by the BowlDawgs = the corrected section is highlighted.  Sorry, guys, please consider any results I enter in the blog on the night of the games as unofficial.  For official results, refer to the email results direct from our Sports Commish, Jay, and to the Philly Pinoy website postings of the results c/o our webmaster, Paolo.  I have also added pictures of the Bowlcoholics, Hall of Framers and BowlDawgs = these pictures were taken by Mary Ann Liboon and Liz Datu and were originally posted on Philly Pinoy's Facebook page.  Enjoy!


You all know the children's song, right?  I Have Two Hands!  Well I have two balls, you can sing the rest of the song, ha-che-che!  So I brought two balls to the Palace with me tonight, my resurrected and super shiny pink and yellow Beast Ball (a DV8 Misfit), and my trusty Spinderella (An Ebonite Cyclone).  Been feeling good all week (see my JingGal Bowls blog) and was hopeful for a fun high-scoring time at the lanes.

With Hurricane Nemo hitting the Northeast, we were lucky that Chester County was only getting rain and a little bit of snow and sleet tonight, so our Philly Pinoy league games were still on.  Thank goodness, otherwise I would have had withdrawal symptoms!

Tonight the BowlStars were up against the Bowlcoholics.  We have strong ties with the Bowlcoholics.  Raul, wife Joy and son Paolo are old family friends, Pinoy pals and neighbors of mine when I was a graduate student living at the Florida State Alumni (Slumni) Village in the 1990s, and Raul is from my home town of Los Banos, Laguna.  Raul, Joy, my GoPapa Joel and I were the core players of the Seminoles bowling team at Philly Pinoy league last year, and Chona was our sub.  Bicoy is a fellow Zumbalade, enjoying the Zumba classes MehAnn used to have in Chelo's basement with us BowlStars.  And of course, Joy is the younger sister of Mitchie's hubby Ivan.  Bowling against friends and family can be fun, and not being naturally competitive, I tend to want everyone to be happy. But not tonight: I wanted a WIN and I wanted it BAD, since we had lost our first two matches 1-3 with the Hall of Framers and the BowlDawgs.  We were ranked 8th out of the 10 teams, while the Bowlcoholics were ranked 6th, but having played with them before, I knew we had a chance, hey, we always have a chance.  Bring it on, game face on, no mercy, let's play!

BowlStars (L-R): CHELO Compendio, MITCHIE Masanga, STRING/CHONA Aquino, JING Capucao, and LIZ Datu

So up for the BowlStars were Chelo Babe, String/Chona Babe, me JingGirl and Mitchie Pie, and we had a team handicap of 18 pins against the Bowlcoholics.  The Bowlcoholics line-up had Bicoy, Joy, Raul and Paolo.  We were in lanes 25-26, right smack in the middle of the action.  To our right were the BowlDawgs and the Hall of Framers, to our left were Spare Me and the Bowleros.  Lanes 21-22 had the Bowlerines against the Bowlinators, while lanes 29-30 closest to the dance floor had our beloved Lords of the Lanes with Ball In.   

So the games began, and the first game was neck and neck.  With less than 20 pins handicap, the game was close from frame to frame.  I started playing with Beast Ball (ball number one), but oh the lanes were dry, so although I was making marks, I switched to Spinderella by the 6th frame, and was rewarded with a double = good decision.  Chelo was getting her groove and played a great 140+ game.  String had a string of marks and also played above her average.  I had a whopping 171 game.  Mitchie was struggling to find her line but continued to fight for every pin.  We did great, but man did our advantage get wiped out in the last few frames with Bicoy playing above her average, Joy making a good showing, Raul also getting a 171 (gaya-gaya, puto-maya),  and Ropey getting a string of strikes and ending with a 216.  'Nak ng tipaklong...nasilat pa!  So the first game went to the Bowcoholics with a narrow 20+ pin advantage.  Keep fighting, my BowlStars, maliit lang ang lamang nila!

Bowlcoholics (L-R): Bicoy De Leon, Raul Quimbo, Paolo Quimbo and Joy Quimbo 

(NOTE: BowlStar Jing in background, saling-pusa behind Bicoy and Raul).

The ping-pong pin-fall match continued in the second game (but I did not need to sing my "Pin Fall" song from last week).  Chelo Babe was hot hot hot, making her marks and getting doubles, whoopie!  She had a stellar 168 game, way to go!  Even String was getting doubles, whoa!  I was playing a darn 9-pin no tap game but was thankfully getting my spares (I was proud to get every single 10-pin spare!), until a gutter ball started the curse of the open frame for me, ugh.  I was lucky to end with a 140+ game.  Mitchie continued to struggle but hang in there and got her marks in the last few frames, also ending with a 140+ game.  I was not paying attention and had conceded the game until I realized that we had won by 2 pins.  TWO PINS!  Celebrate, celebrate, cheer and dance around.  We are TIED, we have a CHANCE.  Fight fight FIGHT!  Oh, and by the way, wake up call for me, the lider baboy, for not paying attention to the score = shameful, I need to keep my head in the game!  Sorry, Bowlcoholics, I don't even remember how you guys did, my attention was on my gals, and on doing that weird horsey dance, and on buying my 50/50 ticket, and on trying to decide which stupid ball to throw, and trying to remember where to stand....  Thanks to my anchor woman, Mitchie for pulling off this win in the last frame of the second game.  Super duper play!  But thanks also to Chelo's awesome game, which made up for all of us not quite playing at our averages.  GO TEAM!

Third game, need to focus, focus, focus.  Chelo continued her hot streak = so proud of yah, darling!  String struggled but still made a good showing = great work, my dear! Mitchie was getting strikes and marks, hallelujah, we needed each one!  I was hit and miss, getting some marks and strikes and missing some "easy" spares due to the dry lanes ("hookerating" "drunken balls").  The Bowlcoholics were faltering, Raul's hot hand was giving him splits, even Paolo was getting open frames.  Focus and fight, my BowlStars, we have a CHANCE.  The difference was dwindling and was getting closer to only around 10-20 pins.

By the time we got to the last frame, we were the only teams still playing since most teams did not have a full roster, with some team members not coming due to the weather.  The only other teams with a full roster were our next door neighbors, the Hall of Framers and the BowlDawgs, but of course they finished early coz they had strings of strikes against each other.  So we had an audience watching, as we entered the 9th and 10th frames.  Chelo ended her fantastic game with a 140+ score.  She had a 455 series and a 152 average, which is mighty awesome considering she started the evening with a 122 average = that's my Babe-licious IncrediBOWLicious team mate!  I was trying so hard to loosen up, limber up and focus so badly for the last frame, I don't even remember how String did = she gave it a good try, I am proud, forgive me for not paying attention, my darling.  I prayed to the bowling gods to grant us a good finish, as I picked up my Spinderella.  I felt all eyes on me as I hit my mark.  My physical and mental preparation was rewarded with a strike!  Happy dance,  happy dance, then settle down and focus, darling, focus.  

Paolo was playing the Bowlcoholics' last frame and had just thrown a strike, but it was so close we both needed to throw strikes to get a win.  I had pulled off a turkey in the 10th frame against the BowlDawgs last week, I was hopeful I could do it again if I could focus.  Paolo threw his second ball and it was a 9.  I threw mine and, whoa, got another strike!  More happy dancing, many thanks to the bowling gods, too much dancing, i was getting dizzy = focus, focus, deep breaths, close your eyes and concentrate.  Paolo got his spare, we were down by 19 pins.  I threw my last ball and got a nine, ending with a 140+ game.  With only my anchor batter (hmm) Mitchie left to play, the Bowlcoholics were ahead by 10 pins.  So since Mitchie was going into the 10th frame with a spare, only one pin would win it!  She got 6 with her first ball and the third game was ours.  Hallelujah, we got two wins, the Bowlcoholics got one game and total pins.  Tied, baby, with two wins and two loses a piece  Happy happy, glad to get two wins.  Go BowlStars, we did not lose tonight!

Alas, our dear hubbies of the Lords of the Lanes were swept by Ball In.  The Bowlerines were also swept by the Bowlinators.  Spare Me was swept by the Bowleros.  Maraming nagwalis, ke linis linis!  And while the scores looked like a 3 wins-1 loss for the Hall of Framers, James' handicap apparently had the BowlDawgs winning 3 wins-1 loss (ERRATA:  I updated the highlighted section of this paragraph on 2/11).

Hall of Framers (L-R): Angelo, Edmer, Angie and Andrew Sotomango

 

BowlDawgs (L-R): Patrick (PJ) Carretas, Lino Matamis, Jay Lizardo and Olee Ramiscal

Dear BowlStar Lizzie came tonight and brought our bedazzled shirts for our next week match against our beloved hubbies of the Lords of the Lanes - thanks for coming, darling, and giving us much needed cheer and support! Thanks also for your for your help with the 50/50 raffle, since dear Alice Mercado could not make it tonight.  Our winner for tonight was NOT Alice Deo, it was Romy Liboon!  Congratulations for winning $18 from the pot.  Next week, remember to bring your cash, folks, you could be the next lucky winner!

I was not too shabby tonight, played a 171, 148 and 147 for a 466 series and a 155 average.  My Philly Pinoy league average may increase to 154, so glad I could maintain it.  It's been a 150+ average week for me at the lanes, which was what I was hoping to accomplish and maintain going into summer league last year after the Philly Pinoy league.  What a difference a year makes!  Now I need to sustain and then maybe set more lofty goals.  My 200 game is just around the corner!

I had a ball with my two balls tonight.  Anybody care to join me for practice at 9:30ish this Sunday morning at the Palace?  Tina is there and only charged me $2 per game last Sunday.  I have reserved two lanes, but more lanes are available.  Have to prepare for next week's epic battle of heroic proportions, the V-Day Philly Pinoy Challenge: BowlStars vs Lords of the Lanes!  Who will prevail?  Who will be triumphant?  Abangan!

Be safe, everyone, and see you at the lanes....