1/31 Week 3: X-Men vs Bowlinators

Already it is Week 3 of the Filipino Winter League (FWL) and the Philly Pinoy bowlers are all settling into the Friday night routine.  The Bowlinators were up against the formidable super bowlers of the X-Men team on lanes 21 and 22.  Beside us on lanes 23 and 24 were the Bowleros and BowlDawgs.  The Bowlerines were matched with the Lords of the Lanes on lanes 25-26, and the PinKillers were playing against the prebowl and blind scores of team bAll In on lanes 27 and 28.

 

Team X-Men is anchored by high-scoring, perennial 200-clubber Angelo of the Sotomango bowling dynasty (former Hall of Framers team).  Our league head honcho Paolo, the Philly Pinoy Mixed Fall League (MFL) player with the highest  average and also a perennial 200-clubber, is part of this team.  PJ (Patrick) Carretas, an ultra high scorer formerly of the BowlDawgs, and Dominic Matamis, returning to bowling after a three-year hiatus, round up the team.  Each member of this team is capable of stringing strikes like strings of pearls on a choker, effectively choking the life and hope out of their opponents = nakakasindak, have mercy!  Play well, fellow bowlcoholics, may we have a good and exciting match!

 

Team X-Men (L-R): Paolo Quimbo, Angelo Sotomango and Dominic Matamis (not in picture is PJ Carretas)

Photo by May Libo-on

 

 

With the automatic starting of practice time at 9:15 pm, we all felt rushed: go, y'all, throw your balls quickly, so we can all get a chance to throw on both lanes and find our lines!  Reminder and lesson learned: COME EARLY to league, dear bowlers, get your gear on and balls ready (hmmm...) by 9:15 pm, so we are maximizing those precious 10 minutes of practice.

Our lineup had Paul bowling first, followed by Blue, then me and lastly, Romy as anchor.  The X-Men had Dominic bowling first, followed by PJ, then Paolo (my katapat) and then Angelo as anchor.  The Bowlinators found their lines and made marks early.  The X-Men were struggling, except for Dominic, who was bowling up a storm.  Oh my golly golay, it was the Dominic Matamis Show all night long, with Dominic showcasing amazing spare-master tendencies and strike-king abilities!  Take a bow, my man, the three-year hiatus has done you good.  With the Bowlinators bowlinating, and the X-Men getting flummoxed by the lanes, Game 1 was won by the Bowlinators by around 50 pins: go team!

 

Game 2 was close, as the Super X-Men were getting their mojo back.  Their explosive strikes were getting more frequent (explosive, like...diarrhea?).  The difference remained in single digit pins throughout and switched from team to team from frame to frame, but staying  mostly with the X-Men.  Marks, we need marks! And like answered prayer, Paul, still grappling with his new ball, throws a strike in the ninth frame.  Super duper Dominic matches Paul with a strike of his own.  I miss my spare wide left (bastos na bola, time to adjust!) but Blue and Romy get their spares, giving us much needed baon going into the 10th frame.   It was a nail-bitingly exciting 10th frame, where unbelievably wayward balls randomly decided outcomes, such that the final outcome lay in the hands of our anchors.  As luck would have it, the pins fell Romy's way and Game 2 went to the Bowlinators by 14 pins.  Whew!  By the skin of our teeth, the night seemed to be going our way!

We all kept on fighting in the third game.  The lanes were getting harder to read, but the Bowlinators got their groove on early in the game, taking the lead and holding off the X-Men to ultimately bring home a sweep.  Blue and Romy had 200-games: way to go, my Bowlinator buddies!  We're still #1! 

The Bowlinators played well and deserved the win, but we know we were extremely lucky to pull this off against the X-Men.   So proud of Bowlinator team mate Paul, who was really having a hard time with his new ball but kept on fighting: he actually made THE difference in the second game, making a win possible = hang in there, Paul, you are our secret weapon!  Super proud of returning bowler Dominic, playing so well all night.  We know for sure that Angelo, Paolo and PJ will be stringing those strikes again in no time and finding their mojo on the lanes, just (hopefully) against the other teams, ayayay!

The FWL Week 3 matches were all super exciting. I was making usyosa with the BowlDawgs vs Bowleros match right next to us, and wow, were they exchanging strings of strikes and keeping it nail-bitingly close!  Lahat sila gumagawa, galing galing! The Bowleros won 3-1 but boy, was it a fight to the finish (naka 256 kasi si Arthur Colorado!).  On the other lanes, the (absent) players of team bAll In took 3 wins from the PinKillers, who were able to win the second game (naka 196 kasi si Ed!).  The Lords of the Lanes were lording it over the Bowlerines in the first two games but lost steam and conceded the third game (naka 162 kasi si Alice on prebowl!).  The Lords took three wins while the Bowlerines had one win.

There were so many amazing performances throughout the night = great job, everybody, hanep talaga!  Sa kagalingan na ipinapamalas sa atin ng mga Philly Pinoy bowlers, nauubusan ako ng superlatives. So happy to see everybody improve and have fun out there on the lanes. 

The Week 3 results can be found at this link. Many thanks to Paolo, new king of the spreadsheets and able successor to our Commish Jay as manager of the Winter League. 

Highlights of noteworthy performances from Week 3

200-CLUBBERS:  Blue-Bowlinators (204), Romy-Bowlinators (206), James-BowlDawgs (215), Olee-BowlDawgs (204, he's back!), Art-Bowleros (256 = hanep!), Eric-bAll In (247 = yebah!)

Players with sensational single games 20+ pins above their averages:  JoelC-Lords of the Lanes (192, GoPapa!), Jops-Lords of the Lanes (192), Alice-Bowlerines (162), Lino-BowlDawgs (171), Jay-BowlDawgs (168, galing ni Commish!)

Players who were stellar all night long, like constellations in the night sky or neon lights in the city skyline, shining like the (bowl)stars that they are, with all games at and way above their averages:

• Dominic-X-Men: Hey, already told you he put up a good show tonight, but let me tell you now exactly how good he was.  Coming in with a 123 average, he had scores of 156, 143 and 141, ending with a 440 series and 146 average for the night.  Oh my golly golay, you are so galing galing!  That is a 20-pin incremental increase!
• Olee-BowlDawgs: He is truly back, after despairing that he may not be able to budge from a 120+ average.  Coming in with a 126 average, Olee started slow with a 136 game but then exploded (like...) with a 204 and ending with a 189.  He had a 528 series and 176 average for the night = that's 50 pins above his average!  Truly stupendously amazing comeback performance, patay na po tayong lahat....
• Desi-Bowleros:  Desi bowled games of 158, 170 and 178 against an average of 154, giving him a 508 series and 168 average for the night.  Lots of dancing going on coz Desi kept throwing strikes: sayaw, Desi, sayaw!
• Dennis-Bowleros:  Scores of 186, 194 and 155 against his old average of 154, gave Dennis a 535 series and 178 average for the night.  Looking good, my bowling guru!  So good to see you get your mojo back: yeah, baby!
• Eric-bAll In: Amazing pre-bowl scores from lanes we struggled on this past Wednesday night = way to go, my long lost cousin!  With a previous average of 160, Eric had scores of 247 (!), 169 and 191 for a 607 series and 202 average for the night.  Wah na koh say...amazing!  That's a 40 pin difference from his previous average!
• Atit-bAll In: With previous average of 140, Atit had scores of 161, 164 and 147 for a 472 series and 157 average for the night.  Terrific prebowl performance from ever-smiling Atit = galing ah! 
• Brenda-PinKillers: Shout out to my godsister = love yah!  Brenda came in with a 100 average and had scores of 112, 120 and 124 for a 356 series and 118 average for the night.  Go lucky ball!
• Ed-PinKillers: Ed came in with a 132 average but had stellar games of 175 and 196, then ran out of steam by the third game with a 102.  His scores give him a 473 series and 157 average for the night.  Pareng Ed, take a bow, hanep sa exponential improvement!
• Blue-Bowlinators: I had to mention my super-duper team mate who was strong and consistent all night long.  Blue came in with a 170 average and bowled a 169, 181 and 204 for a 554 series and 184 average for the night.  Yes, practice is paying off, we were proud of how our "analytical minds" allowed us to recover as we pondered over our lane adjustments (stupid 10-pin!).  Way to go, Blue! 

Personally, I was happy my evil twin, who threatened to take over in the 2nd game, never got the upper hand.  Practice really does help keep the demons at bay, coupled with the invaluable eye openers and tips from my coach Donna Roberts.  My games of 169, 142 and 167 gave me a 478 series and new average of 157: sana tuloy-tuloy na nga ang pagka BowlStar ko...

Remember, guys, we always have six (6) lanes (lanes 15-20) reserved every Wednesday night at 9 pm for practice at the Palace c/o Tina ($2 per game).  The lane conditions after 9 pm on weekdays are a good simulation of what we see on Friday nights.  And of course it is another chance to bond (tsismis at tsika) with your fellow Philly Pinoy bowlers.  The Bowlinators, Lords of the Lanes and Bowleros, together with our Madam Prez Mitchie, are typically present (Mitchie and I have USBC league from 6:20 to 9 pm, so we are already there, works out perfectly).  It is also the best time to prebowl if needed.  Come on over!

Ok, until next week.  Remember to come on time and be ready to bowl with gear on by 9:15 pm on future league nights, as practice time won't wait!  The Bowlinators Week 4 match against the Bowleros promises to be another exciting marquee matchup = abangan!

Stay warm and safe, y'all!  Bowl, baby, bowl!