Jan 3-SW - The Bowling News

Page 12 | Thursday, January 3, 2013 | THE BOWLING NEWS
Angelo ends four-year
PBA title slump
Viper Championship Victory
LAS VEGAS — Brad Angelo
of Lockport, N.Y, with two
strikes and an eight-count in
the 10th frame, ended four
years of frustration with a 233-
232 victory over Finland’s Mika
Koivuniemi to win the Professional
Bowlers Association
Viper Championship at South
Point Hotel and Casino.
Angelo, who won his only
PBA Tour title in the 2008
Viper Championship in Omaha,
Neb., came into the Viper
Championship finals as the
top qualifier, but got help from
Koivuniemi in the final frame
before pulling off his clutch
victory.
The Viper Championship,
the second of five PBA Tour
events held as part of the
GEICO PBA World Series of
Bowling IV at South Point,
aired Sunday on ESPN.
“The finals are airing on my
birthday, and I guarantee there
will be an absolute blow-out
Christmas party, slash birthday
party, slash victory number
two party at Brad Angelo
Lanes,” the now 43-year-old
Angelo said.
Koivuniemi started the title
match with a 4-10 split and an
open frame. Angelo returned
the favor in the third frame
when he left a 4-6-7 split and
opened. Neither bowler missed
the pocket after those errors,
although each left and converted
a single-pin spare.
The contest came down to
the 10th frame where Koivuniemi,
working on a string of four
strikes, added a fifth on his
first shot. Needing nine pins
and a spare to lock up the title,
Koivuniemi left the 3-6-9-10 to
give Angelo a chance to win
with a double and eight pins,
PBA LLC Photo
Brad Angelo
and that’s exactly what the
11-year PBA Tour veteran got.
“Mika gave me a chance,
but I feel for him,” Angelo said.
“I’ve bowled against him for 25
years and he’s about as classy
as they come. He made some
great shots to virtually shut me
out, and the next thing I know,
he got six (pins).
“All you ever want is a
chance. That’s what I kept
saying to myself, give me a
chance,” Angelo continued. “I
thought I needed nine pins to
win. I guess it didn’t register
that he got six pins, not seven,
but I didn’t look at the score.
That’s the first time in my
career I didn’t look to see what
I really needed; I just got up
and tried to make three quality
shots.”
The victory was redemption
for four years of extreme
frustration for Angelo.
“My slow years were certainly
not for lack of effort,” he
said. “I dealt with the evolution
of the sport. Bowling with so
much friction on the lanes here
in Las Vegas, a guy like me
2012 QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup
Shayna and Syafiq take titles
for Singapore and Malaysia
Shayna Ng of Singapore and
Syafiq Rhidwan Abdul Malek
of Malaysia are the QubicaAMF
Bowling World Cup champions
for 2012 after a stunning
display in the stepladder finals,
held in the Sky Bowling Centre
in Wroclaw, Poland. Shayna
first had to overcome England’s
Kirsten Penny in the semi-final,
which she did by 2 games to
nil, 246 to 215 and 221 to 191.
She moved on to play Aumi
Guerra of the Dominican
Republic, trying to win the
title for a record third time in a
row. Aumi started like a train,
winning the first game 269 to
224, but Shayna came back to
win and amazing second game
by 267 to 259. So a third game
was needed and two big splits
put Aumi at a big disadvantage.
Photos B.C. Cheah abf-online.org
Syafiq Rhidwan Abdul Malek of
Malaysia, left and Shayna Ng of
Singapore.
By the 9th frame it was all
over and Shayna took the third
game 247 to 169. Her set of 738
is a new arena record, beating
the Philippines’ Lisa del
Rosario’s 737 set in 2001.
Shayna is studying for a
without the speed and rev rate
some of the power guys have,
is pretty much nullified.
“Some of these guys – and
they’re great players – have an
advantage over guys like me.
My weak 10 pin is their messenger
10-pin strike. My 2-10
split could be another strike for
them because they can send
the headpin off the wall.
“It’s been a struggle, but
today I feel great. Great,” he
said with a grin. “Hopefully
I’ve silenced some of the people
who decided that my career is
over. Hopefully I’ve shoved that
right in their mouths.”
Koivuniemi advanced to
the title match with a 214-150
victory over Mike Fagan of
Dallas in the first match, and
a 258-180 win over reigning
PBA Player of the Year Sean
Rash of Montgomery, Ill., in the
semifinal match.
The GEICO World Series of
Bowling continues on ESPN
next Sunday at 1 p.m. ET with
the finals of the Chameleon
Championship. Finalists will
include Bahrain’s Fawaz
Abdulla, the first Middle
Eastern player to reach the
nationally-televised finals of a
PBA Tour event; 2010-11 PBA
Rookie of the Year Scott Norton
of Costa Mesa, Calif.; PBA Hall
of Famer Walter Ray Williams
Jr., of Ocala, Fla., the winningest
player in PBA history
with 47 PBA Tour titles, and
top qualifier Jason Belmonte of
Australia, a two-handed player
who won three titles during
World Series of Bowling III in
2011.
Pre- and post-telecast shows
for all PBA-ESPN telecasts will
be available on Xtra Frame,
PBA’s online bowling channel.
VIPER CHAMPIONSHIP
South Point Exhibition Hall, Las Vegas
Final Standings: 1, Brad Angelo, Lockport,
N.Y., $20,000. 2, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland,
$10,000. 3, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill.,
$7,000. 4, Mike Fagan, Dallas, $5,000.
Stepladder Results: Match One – Koivuniemi def.
Fagan, 214-150. Semifinal Match – Koivuniemi
def. Rash, 258-180. Championship
– Angelo def. Koivuniemi, 233-232.
sports science degree, and is
coached by Remy Ong who
himself has an impressive
Bowling World Cup record,
having competed five times
with a best placing of 2nd in
2002. Shayna said: “I had to
fight my way up from third
but it did mean that I got used
to the lanes for the finals and
Remy really helped me make
lots of adjustments, so many
that I had to write them down
to remember them. It has been
a great experience working
with Remy. This is my first
world title and I’m a record
holder as well!”
The men’s first match saw
Syafiq beat Andres Gomez
of Colombia in three games.
Andres won the first game 236
to 234 but Syafiq came back
with 224 and 258 to Andres’
201 and 213.
Syafiq moved on to play
Marshall Kent of the USA for
the title. He bowled steadily
and won by 2 games to nil, 236
Continued on Page 13
Koivuniemi wins
Qatar Open
Adds 19th nation to international titles list
DOHA, Qatar (Dec. 15,
2012) — Two-time Professional
Bowlers Association Player of
the Year Mika Koivuniemi, a
native of Finland now living in
the United States, continued to
expand his unprecedented international
bowling portfolio when
he won the 12th annual Qatar
Open Saturday at Qatar Bowling
Center, making Qatar the 19th
different country in which he
has won a bowling title.
Koivuniemi defeated fellow
Finn Tony Ranta, 544-471, in
the two-game total pinfall title
match to win a first prize of
US$39,480.
The tournament was part
of the growing World Tenpin
Bowling Association-PBA
International Tour series, and it
was the final event of the 2012
European Bowling Tour season.
Koivuniemi, who led the
Qatar field of 142 players
from 26 countries through the
preliminary qualifying rounds,
defeated Sweden’s Martin
Larsen, 442-385, to advance
to the title match while Ranta
eliminated 13-time PBA Tour
titlist Tommy Jones of Simpsonville,
S.C., 389-361.
"This is my first title in this
part of the world and I'm glad
I finally broke that jinx," the
45-year-old Koivuniemi said.
Koivuniemi, a long-time
member of Finland’s national
bowling team before joining the
PBA and moving to Hartland,
Mich., had previously won titles
in his home country, Sweden,
Denmark, Japan, Singapore,
Korea, Thailand, Malaysia,
A FEEL GOOD STORY
Continued from Page 1
options might be, before we
ever talk to a doctor. So I’ve
never had a moment of shock
or reasons to get my hopes up
only to be disappointed. I’m
extremely lucky in that aspect.
DB: I know how much
my friends meant to me but I
didn’t want to be a burden and
shied away from people. How
about for you?
SS: Friends have been a
big emotional support. I had
friends bring me lunch in the
hospital daily. Call me and
Angie to see if we were OK.
Just knowing friends care is
a big motivator to get better.
People who have dealt with
cancer, including you, have
been more than willing to
share their stories and be there
for support. I got messages on
Facebook from people I knew
and didn’t know wishing me
luck. That’s been great!
DB: I am sure you knew the
prognosis as I did during all
of this, how did you deal with
that part?
SS: In the past I have asked
my wife how she deals with
life and death on a daily basis
from what can be perceived as
Photo by Terence Yaw abf-online.org
Mika Koivuniemi
Canada, China, Colombia,
Spain, France, The Netherlands,
Slovenia, England and Germany
as well as the United States.
The 2003-04 and 2010-11 PBA
Player of the Year and Venezuela’s
Amleto Monacelli (1989
and 1990) are the only international
players to win Player of
the Year honors twice.
The WTBA-PBA International
Tour’s next tournament will be
the International Bowling Championships
presented by DHC in
Aichi-ken, Japan, Jan. 17-19.
QATAR OPEN
Qatar Bowling Center, Doha, Qatar, Dec. 16
Championship (two games total pinfall): Mika
Koivuniemi, Finland ($39,480) def. Tony
Ranta, Finland ($18,950), 544-471.
Semifinal Round (two games total pinfall, losers
earned $6,580): Koivuniemi def. Martin
Larsen, Sweden, 442-385. Ranta def. Tommy
Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 389-361.
Other PBA Finalists (after 6 games): 5, Mike
Fagan, Dallas, 1,330, $3,290. 6, Tom
Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,325, $3,290. 7,
Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 1,324, $3,290.
8, Yousif Falah, Bahrain, 1,318, $3,290. 10,
Dom Barrett, England, 1,299, $3,290.
13, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,283,
$2,360. 15, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa.,
1,268, $2,360. 16, Thomas Larsen, Denmark,
1,254, $2,360. 17, Jesper Agerbo, Denmark,
1,248, $2,360. 18, Ronnie Russell, Marion,
Ind., 1,242, $2,360.
life being unfair at times? She
responds with “it’s God’s will”.
I guess that has sunk in over
time. I have never asked “why”
or “why me”? It’s useless and
pointless to dwell on the worst
that might happen. If I’m sick
and laying in a hospital bed,
then I deal with it and look
forward to when I get to go
home. Yes, getting told you have
cancer, going through treatments
and having my body try
to shut down on me is terrible.
But it could of been a lot worse
and I could of not had the support
group I did. For that, I feel
I truly am very fortunate.
Well a couple of weeks ago
I texted Sean and we were
chatting and he said he just
had a MRI done and it showed
something in the area like it
had before. Four days later he
texted me back and said it was
just scar tissue. THANK GOD
is what I said. But that is the
way we live. When you deal
with The Big C you are never
truly at ease. But that is why
I say this is a feel good story.
Nothing was there and we hope
nothing ever is. He is truly one
of the good guys, and he can
inspire all of us to keep going
even when there is darkness
hanging over our heads.