Palm Grove defends IMBL crown

3 MIN READ

BAGUIO CITY (Oct. 26) — It is the Palm Grove – CCF Bowlers again, this time against a new opponent as the International Mixed Bowling League draws to a close with the position night set on November 8.

“We are back the way we want it. Win or lose, we are already happy,” said Dong Torres of Palm Grove as he helped lead his team to a possible sixth straight title.

The bonus is that, Palm Grove made it on top of the 16-team league after giving Cross Stitch a 17-7 beating for 307 won points and lead the upbeat E-wealth, which lost to Datim2bit, 9-14, but still managed to get the second finals seat, by a mere half point. It was Hubert Cornel in the first game, then Torres came in the second as the five time defending champion scored two six points, a seemingly insurmountable 150 pinfall lead that actually decided their entry to the finals.

“We are here again,” Rommel Alcid said as they gun for their sixth straight crown, the longest reign in the International Mixed Bowling League.

As they face a new opponent in Ewealth, “Finally, we made it after three seasons,” said National Transmission Commission executive Dondon Gadon as he, Phases instructor Peralta and Beivz Tee finally made it to the promised land.

They need much help from Benguet State University Professor Joe Balaoing and restaurateur Willy Ng who joined them this season and up they went the ladder board and the lead after the penultimate round.

It was a bummer for Datim2bit which needed to win by at least 10 points over Ewealth that would assure it the second spot.

Datim2bit started hotly, scoring five points, but a meltdown in the second round dashed its hope for a possible second place finish.

Phases owner Art Bernal and Rod Valdez tried in vain in the last game as they had strikes after strikes only to be frustrated by Peralta who had five straight strikes from the first to the fifth frame.

Then Jeanette Gomez’s game went from best to worst. From a 196 scratch in the second where she had the best score for the team and the only winner, the team captain scored miserably as she fell to tee in the last.

“We hit it on the second game and Jeanette’s game turned sour in the last,” said Peralta as they head for the finals for the first time against the perennial champion, Palm Grove.

“It is just a great feeling defending our crown again, win or loss, we are able to defend our title,” said Torres, a businessman, as they go for an unprecedented sixth crown.

Datim2bit finished third with 302 won points as it faces Cross Stitch (299.5) for third place, while Gerco and Chamba battle for fifth spot.

Gerco won playing blind on the last night, while Chamba faltered against Gen Construction, 8-16. The IMBL takes a break on Thursday and returns on Nov. 8 for the finals and the awards night set on Nov. 15.

Bernal is the high average bowler with 180.87 pinfalls per game, while Balaba wins in the women’s side. Retired US Navyman Mike Ramat and University of the Cordilleras professor Nitz de Guzman are the most valuable players, while Bounty Peralta and banker Doris Santiago are the most improved players.

The top four teams get the top team awards with Cross Stitch having the high game scratch of 1010, Palm Grove with the high handicap game of 1,139, Datim2bit winning the high series scratch of 2,825 and Ewealth taking the high series handicap of 3,148. # Via NORDIS