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....

2/1 Pin Falls....

I am reminded of the Barbra Streisand song "People", and the Matutina version "Pimples", as I create my own version "Pin Falls".  Here is how it goes:

Pin falls
BowlStars, we need pin falls
It's so painful when pin falls
Fail to fall....

So it was the second night of league tonight, after the hiatus last week due to a scheduling snafu at the Downingtown Palace.  The scheduled games for Week 2 from last week will be played on February 22, so we actually played the games scheduled for Week 3 tonight.  If you followed that, you get a gold star from a BowlStar!  Glad we arranged the schedule this way, coz this means that the BowlStars will still be playing our hubbies in the Lords of the Lanes on February 15 in a classic giyera de patani, war of the kulambo (are you in or out)!  Hala Bira, at abangan!

The BowlStars core players were on deck tonight, with Liz joining us, no handicap yet.  So our lineup had Chelo starting off followed by Liz, me and then our anchor-woman, player of the week last week with a 172 average, Mitchie.  Chona came too, and helped with the 50/50 raffles (thank you!) and our team had pictures taken with our BowlStar uniforms on when the games ended.  Thank you to our photographers for capturing the kodak moments!

We were up against the Sports Commish himself, Jay, and the formidable BowlDawgs in their ube purple shirts on lanes 29 and 30.  Their lineup had Patrick (PJ), Lino, Jay and Olee, all great players (takot ako).  After entering all the lane info and getting practice out of the way, the games began.

The BowlStars started slow, although Liz was hot hot hot, her Slingshot making mark after mark.  I got the 10-pin spare on my first frame, but it was all downhill from there for me. The BowlDawgs got their groove early, while we somehow could not find ours.  Concede, concede, and my song began: "Pin falls...."  Darn, we need more PIN FALLS!  It's so pinpol (painful).  I had a score of 124 on that first game, far cry from my first week average of 162 (pinpol...), would have been happy otherwise.  Just warming up, folks.  Fight, my BowlStars, fight!

We got lucky on the second game, the BowlDawgs lost focus and were playing below average.  We started getting more marks and getting our groove. Maybe the song worked.  In the 10th frame, I got three strikes and ended up with a 151 score = triple X-rated BowlStar special, baby! Party, party, party: boy, did I dance up a storm of celebration on that one!  And my anchorwoman Mitchie delivered an awesome 160+ game, whoo hoo!  With Liz's handicap, we're pretty sure we got that game.  Tied with the BowlDawgs = game on!

I love it when folks get to play really well, it is an awesome sight wonderful to behold.  So although we were like doormats, swept away, bamboozled and manhandled, "nilampaso" when the BowlDawgs got super red hot and started throwing strike after strike, turning X-rated although WE were the BowlStars, I have to hand it to them, congratulate them and enjoy the show: well done, guys!  I am so happy for all of you, and feel lucky to have shared it with you.  I can even take credit coz I think you felt challenged after my 10th frame turkey, which somehow started an avalanche of doom for my gals by unleashing your hidden super bowler personas.  PJ was in the high 180s (I may not be remembering right), Lino had a 201 scratch score, Jay missed 200 by a hair and Olee had 200+ scratch score as well.  Way to go, guys!  The BowlStars did good but had no chance, not enough pin falls.... I am so proud of my girls, though, we fought hard and well, fighting for every pin! 

In the end, I think I did not do too bad (yes, coz it is all about mwah...).  I had a 144 average, down from my 162 initial average, which will drop my Philly Pinoy 2013 league average to 153.  Not too shabby, but I know I need to practice more to work on my spares, my adjustments and my consistency.  But what am I saying, I am a happy girl!  Never would I have imagine this time last year that I would be a little disappointed that I "only" had a 144 average for the night.  I've come a long way, baby!

Need to give a shout out to Alice Mercado for once again handling the 50/50 raffle sales.  Even though folks said they had no cash, she still sold $65 worth of tickets.  It is amazing how lucky Alice Deo is, for winning the pot for the second time in a row!  She won fair and square too, as I asked her little boy to pick the winning ticket in front of her teammates, and even joked that the ticket may be hers, and sure enough, it was.  Congratulations!  Keep on buying for a chance to win, dear bowlers.  Note that we have awarded more than $30 per drawing for the past two league nights already.  Way to go!  YOU could be the next lucky winner.  Coz what ARE the odds that it will be Alice again?  We shall see.... (ominous background music playing in background)

I am a little sad that the Sunday afternoon practice sessions of the Philly Pinoy Bowling Club at the Palace are at an end, now that Palace is no longer offering $2 practice games on the weekend.  Alternate venues to try include Jay Lanes, Limerick Bowl and of course, Facenda.  Or you can join me on Monday night at 9 pm at the Palace, or try booking a lane at the Palace before 6 pm or after 9 pm weekdays.  The after 9 pm slot weekdays at Palace is actually perfect practice time for Philly Pinoy bowlers, as it is most representative of lane conditions we would encounter on Friday evening league nights.  But wherever you bowl, however you roll, have fun out there, folks.

See you at the lanes.... Bowl, baby, bowl!