Teen bowler scores perfect 300

MANILA, Philippines - Youth bowler Jerht Santos’ star shone the brightest on Saturday when he scored 12 strikes in a row to score the first perfect 300 game in the ongoing 38th Philippine International Open Tenpin Bowling Championships at Paeng’s Midtown Bowl at the Robinson’s Place Ermita in Malate, Manila.

Making adjustments to his swing and using a new ball – a 15-pound Ebonite Smashtime -– Santos completed his perfect game on lanes 17 and 18 while competing in the Class O men’s trios competitions with TBAM-Prima teammates Jeff Chan and Collins Jose in the event sponsored by University of Perpetual Help, Department of Tourism, Amway Philippines and Philippine Sports Commission.

After a mediocre 184 in his opening game, the 19-year-old Ateneo sophomore found himself in a zone to record his first 300 in a major tournament.

The event was also supported by Chowking, Pagcor, Colgate-Palmolive Philippines, USAct, Pearl Garden Hotel, Paeng’s Midtown Bowl, Nestle, Goldbridge Dental Services, The City Bowling Shop, and Pan Pacific Manila, the tournament’s official hotel.

“I was using the outer lane and another ball in my first game, so I decided to change to a new one and made adjustments,” said Santos of his feat that earned him a P250,000, four-year scholarship courtesy of the UPHS. “It was God’s grace.”

Together with his 556 in the singles, 468 in the doubles earlier, plus his 484 in the trios, the TBAM-Prima-BX player likewise vaulted to the top of the men’s all-events standings with a combined tally of 1508, sweeping past national players Chester King (1484) and Biboy Rivera (1466).

With Santos’ achievement, succeeding perfect games will now look forward to the Chowking King of the Lanes Award which offers a P50,000 cash pot. Aside from this, another special prize of P50,000 worth of dental services courtesy of Goldbridge Dental Services is being offered to the second local bowler to achieve a perfect 300 game.

It was also a big day for PBAP-Bowlmart’s Lara Posadas, who came up with a six-game series of 1348 to capture first place in the Ladies’ Class O qualifying, bumping off national team mainstay Liza del Rosario to second (1304), while Kim Lao dropped to third (1272).

TBAM-Prima-RP’s Jonas Baltasar, who earlier fell short of scoring the tourney’s first perfect game by a pin, shot lines of 178-228-299 for a 705 to jump to second place in Men’s Class O Singles in the tournament organized by the Philippine Bowling Congress and sanctioned by the World Tenpin Bowling Association.