St Petersburg, Russia: A 300 game by Ildemaro Ruiz from Venezuela took high game honours in today’s first round of the men’s qualifying at the 43rd QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, but Australia’s Jason Belmonte raced to the lead with an impressive 242 average over the six games of qualifying.
In second place is Bill Hoffman of the USA on 1433 (ave. 238.83) with Ildemaro Ruiz third (ave. 232.17). Russia’s Alexey Parshukov attracted boisterous local support and is in fifth place overnight.
“There are too many good bowlers here to name the players to beat, but Bill Hoffman (USA) and Andres Gomez (Colombia) would have to be two, based on their performance on the lanes so far….they’re definitely very experienced,” said Belmonte when pressed for his opinion on his hottest competition. “And, of course, there’s Mhd Khalifa Al-Qubaisi (UAE) …last time I was in Russia (for the World Ranking Masters in 2004) he won it…he knows what to do!” Belmonte added.
In the women’s division, former World Masters champion, Ann-Maree Putney from Newcastle almost matched Belmonte’s winning form in the first squad of today’s Day One matches, but Sue Abela from Malta overtook her in the final two games to finish 60 pins clear of Putney with a 223.67 average, with Piritta Kantola from Finland trailing by just 23 pins and an average of 209.83.
However, in the second squad of the women’s division tonight, Korea’s Sun Hee Lee fired lines of 236, 244, 236, 221, 223 and 226 to leave Abela, Putney and previous World Cup champion, Lynda Barnes from the USA in her wake. The dual-gold medallist from the Far East Games International tour top scored in the women’s division with a 231 average going into tomorrow’s second round.
All bowlers have now completed their first block of six games, with another three blocks to play before the cut to the top 24 in each division.
Full results are uploaded to www.qubicaamf.com as soon as play is complete in each game.
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Lynne Clay
In second place is Bill Hoffman of the USA on 1433 (ave. 238.83) with Ildemaro Ruiz third (ave. 232.17). Russia’s Alexey Parshukov attracted boisterous local support and is in fifth place overnight.
“There are too many good bowlers here to name the players to beat, but Bill Hoffman (USA) and Andres Gomez (Colombia) would have to be two, based on their performance on the lanes so far….they’re definitely very experienced,” said Belmonte when pressed for his opinion on his hottest competition. “And, of course, there’s Mhd Khalifa Al-Qubaisi (UAE) …last time I was in Russia (for the World Ranking Masters in 2004) he won it…he knows what to do!” Belmonte added.
In the women’s division, former World Masters champion, Ann-Maree Putney from Newcastle almost matched Belmonte’s winning form in the first squad of today’s Day One matches, but Sue Abela from Malta overtook her in the final two games to finish 60 pins clear of Putney with a 223.67 average, with Piritta Kantola from Finland trailing by just 23 pins and an average of 209.83.
However, in the second squad of the women’s division tonight, Korea’s Sun Hee Lee fired lines of 236, 244, 236, 221, 223 and 226 to leave Abela, Putney and previous World Cup champion, Lynda Barnes from the USA in her wake. The dual-gold medallist from the Far East Games International tour top scored in the women’s division with a 231 average going into tomorrow’s second round.
All bowlers have now completed their first block of six games, with another three blocks to play before the cut to the top 24 in each division.
Full results are uploaded to www.qubicaamf.com as soon as play is complete in each game.
#
Lynne Clay
