Valdez summons old form, leads PBF-PIO men’s open qualifier

MANILA, Philippines — Veteran bowler Paulo Valdez, winner of multiple medals in the FIQ World Championships, Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games, rolled the first perfect game of the second PBF Pagcor Philippine International Open Championships.

The three-time SEAG champion’s 300 on lanes 23 and 24 at the Coronado Lanes at Starmall, Mandaluyong sent him to the top of the men’s open division qualifier with 1467 points in the tournament backed by Smart Communications, Cafe Puro and Boysen Paints.

After seven days of qualifying games, reigning World Cup champion Krizziah Tabora secured the top seeding in the ladies open division, putting together a three-game series of 794.

So far, Tabora was the first bowler in the entire PIO to compile a 1500-plus series with an average of 252.50 for a leading score of 1515.

Also playing exceptionally well in the men’s open is MBA Sarimanok’s JP Macatula, who bowled 1440.

Philippine Bowling Federation secretary general Bong Coo said these rankings are expected to change with the influx of foreign bowlers from 10 countries during the tournament’s second week beginning today.

Defending men’s open champion Kenneth Chua and seasoned bowler Liza del Rosario also had their share of dominating the lanes before the weekend.

Chua, the reigning men’s open titleholder, rolled 718 in both games while Del Rosario scored 687 and 720, pushing them ahead in their respective divisions.

Chua captured a silver medal in the men’s singles of the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan last year while Del Rosario formed part of the women’s team of four which also brought home a silver from the same tournament.

Also showing great promise in the men’s open division is teenage bowler Merwin Tan, who rolled a combined effort of 1384.

National youth pool standout Dale Lazo (1194), Art Barrientos of TBAM-Prima (1173), Stephen Diwa of TBAM-Prima (1129) and Norel Nuevo of PBA-Nobleland (1116) are expected to dispute the juniors title.

Top qualifiers in the classified seniors are John Mendoza (1272), Jun Raymundo (1245) and TBAM’s Fr. Benny Tuazon (1209), who was also part of the winning team in the Corporate Cup.