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!