Gella in bowling pole position

MANILA, Philippines — Former national junior standout Grace Gella found her groove last Thursday night to wrest the lead in the local women’s open division qualifiers of the Philippine International Open Tenpin Bowling Championships at the Coronado Lanes inside the Starmall in Mandaluyong.

A world junior championship bronze medalist in 2019, Gella sizzled with scores of 654 and 695 in securing top spot with a tally of 1349, relegating erstwhile frontunner and former World Cup champ Krizziah Tabora-Macatula (1337) to second place.

Cebu-based national team mainstsay Alexis Sy, who was in fifth place overnight, also made her move to secure the No. 3 spot after shooting 1313 (622-691) in the tournament organized by the Philippine Bowling Federation and sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Moving up in the standings is pivotal since the top three finishers in both the local and overseas categories of the women’s open qualifying rounds will advance to the second round of the  finals outright.

Singapore’s Jazreel Tan, who scored the meet’s first perfect 300 game the other day, clung to first place in the women’s open overseas qualifiers with 1417.