Granger, an American who keeps on fighting for the Philippines, left his third frame open against Malaysian master Azidi Bin Ameran, but suddenly caught up with a long string of strikes to win the title, the $5,000 top prize and the hearts of the Filipino bowling fans.
After rattling off his final strike for a 245-229 victory, the 39-year-old Granger repeatedly punched his fist into the air, yelling at the top of his lungs then exchanging high fives with RP team head coach Johnson Cheng and the people that lined up the 12th lane of the extremely cold venue.
"I had a bad shot on the third frame that’s why I had to come back, keep my feet slow and make the good shots. Fortunately, I got the carry," said Granger, who won the Tour’s opening leg in Malaysia last March and placed second in Thailand a couple of weeks ago.
Ameran opened his bid with four straight strikes and was way ahead, 89-46, after three frames. However, he failed to hang on against Granger, part of the RP team coaching staff and actually the Tour’s reigning champion following his victory in the 2002 Grand Slam Finals in Singapore.
"Bowling with this crowd is absolutely terrific. I love them tremendously," said Granger, a regular fixture at the 36-lane Pearl Bowling Center where he normally practices at least twice a week.
On his way to the finals, Granger, the former head coach of the Hong Kong national team, had to beat Taipei’s Cheng Te Nung in the second round, 230-215, and Lee Tae Ju of Korea in the semis, 217-197. His winning score in the finals was the highest in the Manila leg.
Granger’s victory somehow made up for Cecilia Yap’s heart-breaking 208-226 loss to Malaysian star Shalin Zulfikli in the women’s finals.
Yap, a pretty Chinese mestiza, easily got the crowd going with six straight strikes only to leave them frowning after leaving open frames on the seventh, eighth and ninth. She took a spare on the 10th shortly after her opponent, bouncing and full of energy all throughout the match, closed out with three straight strikes.
"After those six strikes, I got too fast on my feet. I knew it but I could not control my movement. But it’s part of the game and nobody’s perfect. You just can’t win every tournament even if you want to.
It’s quite bad but what can I do? You can’t cry over spilled milk," said Yap as she was packing up near the practice lanes.
"After she made those six straight strikes, I knew it was going to be tough on me. so I told myself to just hang on and that’s what I did," said Shalin, who took home $2,500 and her second leg victory after winning one back home.