Granger, Yap make semis in Asian Tour

Purvis Granger, an American proudly carrying the Philippine flag, and Cecilia Yap, a Filipina who looks more like Chinese, safely made it to the semifinals of the Aviva Asian Bowling Tour’s Manila leg at the Pearl Bowling Center yesterday.

The top-seeded Granger, who also helps call the shots for the RP team, was seeded into the second round, and didn’t waste his time disposing of Chen Te Nung of Taipei, 230-215, in the event that drew the top 14 Asian players in the men’s and women’s divisions.

Granger, who turned 39 last week, will face Korea’s Lee Tae Ju in the semis this afternoon, hoping for another victory that will send him to the finals against either Chung Him of Hong Kong or second seed Azidi Bin Amerran of Malaysia in the evening.

"My focus is strong and my mental game is strong, too. I just hope I could keep them. But sometimes, the mind does what the hand doesn’t," said Granger who watched Lee turn back fellow Hong Kong player Jack Wong in the quarterfinals, 237-227, from inside the press room.

"Watch out, you Korean. Tomorrow you’re going down," Granger, trying to psych himself up, blurted as he left the room.

Yap, who won a silver in the team of five event of last year’s Busan Asian Games, will have to display the same level of confidnce when she meets Alice Tay of Singapore in the semis. A win would set her up for a finals showdown with either Shalin Zulkifli or Lai Kin Ngoh, both of Malaysia.

Yap, who loves reading and solving jigsaw puzzles, made it to the semis by beating Yap Seok Kim of Singapore in the first round, 236-126, and second seed Happy Soediyono of Indonesia in the next, 214-191.

"No pressure," said Yap as she looked forward to the semis. If you think of pressure you’ll die."

Liza del Rosario, the Filipina top seed in the women’s side, lost to Shalin in the quarterfinals, 150-226, while Liza Clutario, the fourth seed, bowed to Lai in the first round of the short, unpredictable one-game match, 184-200.

Del Rosario was highly expected to move onto the semis, but simply failed to deliver after deciding to change her ball – from Icon 4 to Hyde (both 15 lbs) – heading into the match.

"During my shadown bowling, the Icon 4 lacked the hook so I decided to use the other one. It turned out to be a wrong adjustment. And one game is too short for you to adjust. It was really hard to think out there," said Del Rosario.

In the men’s side, also dropping their bids for the Philippines were Benny Dytoc, who lost to Chen, 175-199, in the first round and Chester King, who lost to Azidi, 186-204, in the quarterfinals. King earlier got past Jonathan Lim of Malaysia, 205, 187.

The men’s champion gets $5,000 and the women’s champion takes home $2,500. After the previous legs in Malaysia and Thailand, the Tour goes to Singapore from Manila, then to China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and back to Singapore for the grand finals in January.

Seok Kim of Singapore in the first round, 236-126, and second seed Happy Soediyono of Indonesia in the next, 214-191.

"No pressure," said Yap as she looked forward to the semis. If you think of pressure you’ll die."

Liza del Rosario, the Filipina top seed in the women’s side, lost to Shalin in the quarterfinals, 150-226, while Liza Clutario, the fourth seed, bowed to Lai in the first round of the short, unpredictable one-game match, 184-200.

Del Rosario was highly expected to move onto the semis, but simply failed to deliver after deciding to change her ball – from Icon 4 to Hyde (both 15 lbs) – heading into the match.

"During my shadown bowling, the Icon 4 lacked the hook so I decided to use the other one. It turned out to be a wrong adjustment. And one game is too short for you to adjust. It was really hard to think out there," said Del Rosario.

In the men’s side, also dropping their bids for the Philippines were Benny Dytoc, who lost to Chen, 175-199, in the first round and Chester King, who lost to Azidi, 186-204, in the quarterfinals. King earlier got past Jonathan Lim of Malaysia, 205, 187.

The men’s champion gets $5,000.