Player of the Week JOEL CAPUCAO (always MY player of the week, naks! Go Papa!)
Photo by May Libo-on
FWL Week 10 and it was the #1 team Lords of the Lanes up against the #2 team Bowlerines on lanes 21-22. The night had started out with a close game, so close it was a tie and each team got half a point each. But as the night drew on, the stars started aligning towards a cosmic convergence of galactic proportions. With a 192 in the first game and a 202 in the second game, my Go Papa Joel was admittedly having a great night as it was, but it got unbowlievably better in the third game. One, two, three strikes - okey, he has a turkey. Four, five, six strikes - okey, folks are starting to take notice. Joel C is building a fence, stringing his strikes. Jing, don't watch, don't look, don't think about it, you know how that makes him lose his mojo. Seven strikes - OMG, seven! Amazing, amazing, on lanes where I could hardly find my line, on the indubitably worst lanes (21 and 22) for the league! Eight strikes - Chelo comes over, the league record has been broken. Folks are holding up the numbers in the air, sharing the news with each other (with me too, coz I can't look), sharing how many strikes my Joel has thrown in a row. Nine strikes - wow, time has stopped and is standing still. This has the makings of a perfect game and we are all witnesses. Apparently in the pit, his Lords of the Lanes teammates are telling him to continue doing what he has done before every shot. No trips for Joel C outside the pit, no looking outside the pit (they know he can't see me), no water, no bathroom break, just focus on the next shot, and Jops tells him, no looking at the score either! Ten strikes - oh Lord(s of the Lanes) have mercy, history is being made. Only two more balls to go, and oh, the next one leaves the 10-pin, which he converts. So close to a perfect game, but bowling perfection nevertheless! Ten strikes in a row and a scratch score of 288 (handicap score of 311!). A scratch 682 series (751 handicap series) and 227 average for the night (against previous average of 174). What a show, what a show! Bravo! Go Papa! The Capucao genes are strong in you, Daddy Jules will be so proud.
Score sheet with Week 10 Performance of the Lords of the Lanes
And at night's end, looking at the score sheets, we realize how lucky the night had been. The Bowlerines had kept it close and could have stolen the third game: great play! On the lanes next to them, Joel D of bAll In was all in (214, 180 and 170), both he and Alice had amazing above average scores all night, but the PinKillers, like the Lords, were merciless in their persecution and exacting in their execution of team bAll In: amazing play! The Bowleros pulled off a win with a great, collective team effort against the BowlDawgs: a 232 from my neighbor Art, wow!
Team of the week goes to the X-Men, hands down. With all four players playing up to 30+ pins above their averages on all three games, the Bowlinators did not have a chance. I doubt if any team would have had a chance: they logged a whopping 945 team handicap score in the second game! We knew Dominic, PJ, Paolo and Angelo could play this well, but it all came together on this night. Amazing, well done!
Bowlinator Paul had an excellent night, well done, above average all night! The Bowlinators did not do bad in the first game, the X-Men just built a commanding lead. Romy and I faded after that, while Blue and Paul stepped up and played well. If only all the Bowlinators could come together like fireworks, like we did in the first few weeks, the outcome would be different. But we can only move forward - it is not over till it is over!
The results of FWL Week 10 have been posted. Only one more week left in regulation play, and this Friday, Week 11, the Bowlinators (now #5) face the #1 Lords of the Lanes. No more pressure, we just need to bowl our brains off, and hope that some cosmic karma brings an end to our catastrophic collapse (6 losses in a row!) and helps bring our mojo back. Bring back, bring back, o bring back my mojo to me, to me. I hit the practice lanes hard this weekend, determined to be better prepared to deal with the perplexing lane conditions. There is hope, the confidence must return!
Just like my Go Papa Joel, who has patiently waited for years for that dazzling display of bowling brilliance to come around, we too have such a day waiting for us. Keep the faith. As we continue to work hard and invest in our development and continuous improvement, the chances of those days coming (and coming more often) increase to critical mass until we can no longer be denied by destiny.
Bowl on, people! Bowl, baby, bowl!
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