01/24 FWL Week 2 - bALL IN ator Battle!

Many apologies for the lateness of the blog, my dear Philly Pinoy bowlers. Try as we may, life gets in the way.... I know some of you were expecting the blog to come out super early after Week 2, as it was a stellar night for the Bowlinators and the BowlStar Jing came out to play (as opposed to my evil twin who appeared on Week 1...). Better late than never, so here goes!

Last Friday night was Week 2 of the Philly Pinoy Annual League (Filipino Annual League or FWL on the league sheets). The Bowlinators were up against team bAll In on lanes 25 and 26. Flanking us on the right on lanes 27 and 28 was the Giyera de Patani - Que vs Que with the BowlDawgs vs our opponent last week, the Bowlerines. On our immediate left on lanes 23 and 24 were my GoPapa Joel and Jops (dadalawa na naman sila!) of the Lords of the Lanes up against the super X-Men. On lanes 21 and 22 were the Week 1 #1 team Bowleros up matched up against the PinKillers who had their brand new pin-stickingly punny uniforms on: galing mag-create ng kinakapatid kong si Brenda! Awesome job, hit na hit! Sorry, malabo yung mga litrato, malabo kasi ang mata nung kumukuha (may katarata na kamo!).  Saka na yung photo nung harap ng uniporme ninyo kapag marquee match na natin sa blog, ha!

 

Close up photos of logos in back of PinKillers team shirts

I was a little nervous about our matchup with Team bAll In. In reading my blog from last year's BowlStar vs bAll In matchup, I was reminded of how talented each of the players in that team is, and how each of them can explode with bowling awesome-ness when needed. They were also coming in hungry for a win, and with great scores on record from Week 1. Atit and Joel were joking that they will play good coz I am blogging about them, we should just concede. My distant cousin Eric was saying we could settle this like family. Game on, game on...!

Team bAll In (L-R): Nonoy Rocero, Joel Deo, Eric Alvarez, Atit Carangan

Photo by May Libo-on


The Bowlinators were ON in Game 1, doing our best to keep pace with the red hot bAll In team. I started slow with the curse of the open frame but ended strong with a string of five strikes and a 60-pin above average 190 (too bad, could have been a 200 game!). The 60-pin advantage was enough to win us Game 1 = whew! Game 2 went to bAll In, the Bowlinators struggled to keep it close while our opponents found their groove. It was tied, and anybody's game! The energy starting dropping but the Bowlinators kept on coming: fight fight fight! Blue was struggling with his right hand spares:kulang sa pitik! It was contagious and soon we were all missing the right hand spares: kulang at sobra sa pitik, buwisit!

And at the end of the night we were rewarded with three wins and one loss, and rumors that we had garnered top spot with all the outcomes of other matches coming through. Go Bowlinators!

Team Bowlinators (L-R): Romy Libo-on, Jing Capucao, Blue Sapalaran, Paul Ficcara

Photo by May Libo-on

The FWL Week 2 results are available at this link (thank you, Paolo!).  Here are highlights of noteworthy performances for Week 2.

200 CLUBBERS: Eric-bAll In (200), JoelD-bAll In (222), Romy-Bowlinators (202),James-BowlDawgs (248!!!), Art-Bowleros (223), Paolo-XMen (203 + 204), Angelo-XMen (209), JoelC-Lords of the Lanes (209)

Flashes of bowling brilliance were exhibited by these bowlers who had games 20 pins or more above their averages - great job, y'all: Blue-Bowlinators (194), Lino-BowlDawgs (179), Rachel-Bowlerines (171), Ming-PinKillers (122), Desi-Bowleros (191), Roy-Lords of the Lanes (186)

Special shout-out to those players who had outstanding performances, playing above their averages all night:

• Grace-Bowlerines: OMG, what a stellar night she had! Grace bowled games of 122, 168 and 161 against her 118 average, giving her a 451 series and 150 average for the night. Super WOW...bow!Galing galing!
• Ed-PinKillers: Pareng Ed turned pro, with scores of 127, 128 and 164 against an average of 125, giving him a 419 series and 139 average for the night. Way to go, practice is paying off!
• Art-Bowleros: With scores of 167, 172 and 223 against an average of 162, Art had a 562 series and average for the night of 187. Supergaling galing ng kapit bahay ko!
• I am proud to be in this company (bow...). My scores of 190, 165 and 178 gave me a 533 series and average for the night of 177 (vs my Week 1 average of 136).Sana maulit muli....

So with Week 3 scheduled tonight, my question is, sisipot ba si BowlStar Jing or ang kanyang evil twin? I am back to my old MFL average and FWL starting average of 156, and am hoping I can continue bowling well. Romy and Blue have been strong and consistent. Paul has a brand new ball = looking good! It should be another exciting night at the lanes!

Okay, I will TRY to get the blogs out earlier in the coming weeks, but please forgive me if that does not become reality. I would rather bowl than blog....

Till next: bowl, baby, bowl!

 

1/21 Winter League 1st Pahabol Blog! (with QUIZ)

Seems like I did get inspired....  Maybe coz baby, it's cold outside!  So as the polar vortex hits us once more, I am happy to present you, dear Philly Pinoy Bowlers, with the very first Pahabol Blog written for the Winter League.  I started doing the Pahabol Blogs for the Mixed Fall League (MFL), mostly to share some quotable quotes, get the word out (and the back story...chismis-try major ako!) and generally to get everybody all hyped up about playing each week.  Through the Pahabol blog quizzes, folks got to know more about each other and could better remember who was playing on which teams.  Siempre, as more inspiration hit, it became another vehicle for more poetry and a collection of karaoke songs.  We'll see how it goes with this league (wala pang song, so far....).

Well, I am all excited that the Week 1 results are now posted on the Philly Pinoy Website.  Get excited with me so we can all get excited together, coz baby, it's cold outside!  Kudos to Paolo Quimbo for doing double duty as point person/ organizer of the league and also Webmaster for the Philly Pinoy website.  He's got it all going on!

Since I did not post about our Fun Night, some highlights are embedded into this blog.  Our bowlers are getting better and better each year, the matches are exciting from week to week.  Galing talaga ng Philly Pinoy bowling!

O sige, it's ....QUIZ TIME!

This is a two part quiz.  Most questions are about our Philly Pinoy bowlers: you get bonus points if you can name their team.  Answers are given at the bottom of the blog.  The "prize" is pride in knowing your league well.  Good luck! 

PART 1 - FUN NIGHT TRIVIA

1. Scored 300 in 8-pin no tap (two bowlers) 
2. Got close to getting 300 in 8-pin no-tap but faltered it in the 10th frame (three bowlers)
3. Male winner of lowest score
4. Female winner of lowest score (behold, the sparemaster....bow)
5. Color of pin you needed to topple with a strike in the third game to get one dollar
6. Position of colored pin for a strike to yield five dollars
7. Holder of the monies, queen of the lists (membership, players = bayad na kayo!)

PART 2 - TEAM TRIVIA

a.  Team captain of team with three female players

b.  The two brand new female players in the Winter League

c.  Anchor and team captain of returning champions

d.  The two Lords of the Lanes present on Week 1

e.  The only absent X-Man on Week 1

f.  Wife of team captain of team bAll In

g.  Male player on team Bowlerines

h.  Father and son bowlers in the league



Hokay, my dear bowlers, I hope you did well on the quiz.  We shall meet again this Friday if we survive the current polar vortex.  Stay safe and warm, coz BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

Bowl, baby, bowl!


SIDE NOTE:  Downingtown Bowling Palace is closed tonight.  Baby can't bowl....yet.






 

ANSWER KEY:

Part 1 - FUN NIGHT TRIVIA

1. James- BowlDawgs + Art- Bowleros (2nd timer, yebah!)
2. JoelC- Lords of the Lanes + Jops- Lords of the Lanes + Atit- bAll In
3. Paolo- X Men
4. Rachel- Bowlerines (2nd timer, idol!)
5. red
6. head pin (1)
7. Joy Quimbo - THANK YOU!

Part 2 - TEAM TRIVIA

a.  Grace - Bowlerines
b.  Ming and Brenda, both from PinKillers
c.  Dennis - Bowleros
d.  JoelC and Ivan (LOL = Lord of the Lanes)
e.  Patrick (PJ) Carretas - X Men
f.  Alice - Bowlerines (team captain of bAll In is JoelD)
g.  Marlon - Bowlerines
h.  Matamis duo: Lino - BowlDawgs + Dominic - X Men.  Quimbo duo: Raul-PinKillers + Paolo-X Men


 

01/17 Winter League is ON!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Philly Pinoy Bowlers!  

Seems like forever since our beloved Mixed Fall League (MFL) wrapped up in November 2013, even longer since we had the Winter League last year....  We are back!  And I am back to blog on my adventures with y'all on the lanes.  I am starting off with some Winter League Week 1 poetry.  Enjoy, and welcome back, everybody!

 

Excitement galore

Once more is in store

When Fridays we meet

To bowl, to compete

In our fifth winter league

We feel no fatigue

We've been waiting all week

Fun and vict'ry to seek

 

This is OUR winter games

Pinoy Lane Lords and Dames

Bowling addicts unite

To come play Friday night!

Winter League has begun

Fun night has come and gone

Last night was Week 1

Bowlers have game face on!

 

Before I continue with the rest of the poem, which has the highlights of my team's matchup for the night, I want to introduce the teams for this year.  We have eight (8) teams in our Philly Pinoy 2014 Winter League. Veteran teams have come back to compete, including reigning 2013 champion Bowleros and 2013 runner up bAll In.  Also returning are the BowlDawgs, the Lords of the Lanes, the Bowlerines and the Bowlinators with me as a new addition. There are two brand new teams this year. The X-Men are a formidable super team, composed of ultra high scorers Angelo, Paolo, Patrick and Dominic. They were teamed on Week 1 with the other new team, the PinKillers, which has veteran player Raul, MFL veteran Ed and brand new players Ming and Brenda. Brenda is my god sister from Los Banos, Laguna, who (for the love of bowling and all things Pinoy) drives from Reading every Friday night to bowl with us. Love yah, my sistah!

To lengthen the league's season beyond 7 weeks in regulation plus the finals, a 14-week schedule is proposed. I wonder if a 28-week schedule going into the summer months was considered? My addiction is showing....  But no complaints here at all: it will be a long season, the excitement will go on and on and on!

I am bowling as a Bowlinator this year, with veteran Bowlinators Romy Libo-on, Blue Sapalaran and Paul Ficcara.  My Bowlinators were up against the Bowlerines, composed of Grace Que, Marlon Paed (new addition), Alice Deo and Rachel Ditan.  Marlon kept saying that it is not good they are starting out with a loss, I kept saying I was worried that if Marlon got hot, it'll be another Marlon Paed Show!  Grace reminded me that in the MFL, all teams excelled whenever they played MY team, knowing that their outstanding performance would be blogged.  Oh my, have mercy, let's play, let's play!  Here are the highlight verses from the rest of my poem for Week 1.

 

 

My BowlStar team plays no more

So this year I will explore

Bowling as one of the Bowlinators

Who on the lanes can be dominators 

 

The Bowlinators last night faced

Rachel, Alice, Marlon and Grace

Against the Bowlerines we gave our all

Me and my teammates: Romy, Blue and Paul

Games 1 and 2 (and total pins) went our way

Game 3 we lost, much to our dismay

Plagued by splits that we could not convert

10th frame loss by 12 pins - it hurt

And all night I somehow could not find

My line, I was bowling like blind

My balls kept avoiding the pins

I thank my teammates for securing our wins

Tomorrow is yet another day

Need to practice more, improve on my play

Need to believe and to never fear

BowlStar Jing on the lanes will appear

We all struggled on the lanes that night, but occasionally showed glimpses of former and future glory. The lanes kept giving us splits, sumakit ang mga singit namin sa splits, sobra talaga.  But overall it was an exciting start to the league.  My teammates had stellar performances = galing galing!  Blue had a 199 game and was amazing all night, Paul had a 159 in the second game and Romy had a 212 also in the second game. 

The Bowlerines kept us fighting hard.  Grace was consistent all night, Marlon turned on the Marlon Paed show on Game 2, and Alice and Rachel were in great form on Game 3 (my idols!).  Really enjoyed playing with y'all. 

I am also happy to be playing with my new teammates.  We were proudly showing off our new uniforms in grey and construction orange = photos to be shared in future blogs.  I just wish I had played better.  My dear teammates, I am heartfully sorry that the BowlStar part of me was a no-show, but I am truly hopeful that better nights are in store for me.  If our practices are any indication, better play is anticipated = abangan!

 

As with the MFL, I plan to give you highlights on the outstanding performances and (maybe) some quotable quotes from each week's matches.  But first, I have a request of the team captains.  Please lang, parang awa niyo na, please write clearly and legibly on your score sheets.  I base the blog highlights on these sheets.  Please ask for a duplicate score sheet when it starts getting messy, or fill in with pencil and use eraser.  Please have mercy.  Diyos na mahabagin, here is an example of what a score sheet should NOT end up looking like (batubatu sa langit, huwag pong magtampo ang nagsulat nito...).  Cannot stress this enough, it is giving me stress, I was so distressed coz it is such a mess!

 Photo of BAD Score Sheet: Never again, please!

All four matches on Week 1 had similar outcomes: one team won three (3) points while their opponent won only one (1)  point.  Congratulations to the winning teams:

1. BowlDawgs victorious versus bAll In
2. Bowleros triumphant against the Lords of the Lanes
3. PinKillers showing us that rookies can win the day and that the super team X-Men are not infallible
4. Bowlinators who won against the Bowlerines

Our UNOFFICIAL standings are as follows, with official standings to be posted this week on the Palace website and on the Philly Pinoy website:

1. Bowleros: 3 wins, 1 loss, 2432 total pins
2. BowlDawgs: 3 wins, 1 loss, 2420 total pins
3. PinKillers: 3 wins, 1 loss, 2416 total pins
4. Bowlinators: 3 wins, 1 loss, 2316 total pins
5. bAll In: 1 win, 3 losses, 2371 total pins
6. X-Men: 1 win, 3 losses, 2328 total pins
7. Lords of the Lanes: 1 win, 3 losses, 2277 total pins
8. Bowlerines: 1 win, 3 losses, 2189 total pins

Our top male players are Angelo-XMen (209), Nonoy-bAll In (195) and Carlo-Bowleros (193). Our top female players are Rachel (158) and Alice (144), both from team Bowlerines = go, girls!

Shout out to the 200-clubbers: Angelo-XMen (246), Carlo-Bowleros (235), JoelC-Lords of the Lanes (214, GoPapa!), Nonoy-bAll In (203 and 213, hanep!), Romy-Bowlinators (212), and Paolo-XMen (204)

Major WOW to these individuals who ended up with Week 1 averages significantly above their previous averages - super galing ninyo!

• James-BowlDawgs: Former average of 155 increased to 181 with scores for the night of 193, 166 and 185 = wow!
• Nonoy-bAll In:  Only individual with TWO 200 games in Week 1, had previous average of 163 but now has average of 195 after scoring 203, 213 and 170 = that's really incrediBOWL! 
• Blue-Bowlinators: Came in with 153 average but bowled 199, 149 and 178 for new average of 175 = go, my team mate!
• Raul-PinKillers: Started with 145, scores of 160, 149 and 180 give him a new average of 163 = Go Noles!
• Carlo-Bowleros: Came in with 162 average but his scores of 193, 235 and 151 gave him a new average of 193 = yebah!
• Brenda-Pinkillers: Had former average of 86 but now has average of 100 after scoring 109, 107 and 84.  Good job, galing-galing!

I do apologize for not starting up the blog until today.  For the MFL, I was blogging even before the Kick-Off, but I really have been quite busy and feeling tired. All-nighters are for younger folk, my geriatricity is showing. It is fortuitous that inspiration hit me and the poem above got written (while doing laundry, go figure...). Otherwise, all I had previously come up with was this very brief Taglish piece, which I share for entertainment purposes:

Sa halip na mag-blog

Ako'y inantok, natulog

Mahirap mag-compose at post

Habang mga mata ay closed

Team ko ay nagdiriwang

Kami'y nanalo at lumamang

Nguni't puso ko ay kay sawi

Sa laro kong kadiridiri

May bukas pa

May pag-asa

Trese pang linggo

Tara na, let's go!

 

Hacheche!

And so on that note, I end this edition of the BowlStar Blog.  Watch out for the next edition, surely there will be one next week, maybe earlier if inspiration hits (remember the Pahabol blogs, my MFLers?).  

Till then: Bowl, Baby, BOWL!