Belmonte again in PBA Event

Wal Brooker

New Member
For those of us keen to follow the ever growing bowling career of Jason Belmonte it's great to see that he has made it through the qualifying round of the GEICO Plastic Ball Championships in the US.

Jason is currently in 9th place, of the event, after six games of the round of 64 PBA players.

The interesting thing about this event is that all players have been provided with two identical plastic balls which they are required to use in lieu of their normal 'super' balls.

The players can drill more balls during the contest but they must be plastic.

There has been a lot of speculation as to which style of bowler ... power...straight...left hander or whatever would be best suited to using the plastic equipment.

Well at this early stage power player Tommy Jones is leading with a respectable 241 average...who said you cant score with plastic?
 
Well at this early stage power player Tommy Jones is leading with a respectable 241 average...who said you cant score with plastic?


It looks like nothing but power in the top 10!

Also from what I understood about the way the tournament ran was, that they are using there normal high level reactives for qualifying and switching to plastic for the matchplay and the tv show.
 
You are wrong Shayne.....it's plastic all the way in this tournament. Urethane and reactives were allowed during the TQR only.
 
Shayne,

I believe the way it worked with the plastic balls is as follows:

PTQR (players qualifying round for non exempt players) they can use normal balls. Then once top 64 is determined all players are issued two identical plastic balls which they can drill anyway (legal of course) they want.

These balls are to be used for the remainder of the event. There is a provision that they can drill more plastic balls under some circumstances.

For those who dont realise it Jason Belmonte is the 'biggest thing' on the US bowling scene in many years.

He has recently appeared on Good Morning America and had articles, on his two handed style, in the Los Angeles Times and would you believe it the Wall Street Journal!

It's a pity our local media hasn't got onto this. We sure could use the publicity.
 
Hi Shayne,

This is from the PBA Site. http://www.pba.com/news/feature.asp?ID=1153

Because all of the exempt players seeded into the main draw of 64 qualified by virtue of their success in tournaments with unlimited bowling ball technology, the event’s Tournament Qualifying Round will be contested with normal, unlimited technology (as always, equipment must be PBA product registered), on the traditional Cheetah lane pattern. Another reason for the TQR being a separate tournament not limited to plastic balls is the main draw event will use just one exact replica ball, which is impossible to do in the TQR. Also, if the TQR players’ personal plastic balls were the only balls allowed in the TQR, there would be the potential for dramatic inequality from ball to ball.

The 64 players, including the players who emerge from the TQR, will be distributed their plastic balls for use for the first time in the Wednesday afternoon practice session. The lane condition will be a modified Cheetah pattern, utilizing less volume of oil yet the same shape as the Cheetah, which is the shortest pattern in the PBA stable of sport-compliant lane conditions.

Cheers
 
oops, the manners police have arrived.. :sorry:

I'll give myself a yellow card :cardY: and I'll try and become a better person.

Sorry Shayne, but the information you received was incorrect. Myself and a couple other posters have replied with the correct information as to which bowling balls are being used for this week's PBA Tour event. Once again Shayne, I apologize for my rudeness.
 
The exempt pros were given their 2 plastic balls last week in Vegas prior to the start of the USBC Masters. Id assume all other players would have recieved theirs at the tournament.

Keep going belmo!
 
Thanks to pba.com/news

Mike DeVaney Leads After Round of 64 Qualifying at PBA GEICO Plastic Ball Championship
Wheat Ridge, Colo. - 2/19/2009


In a tournament where all competitors are required to use identical plastic bowling balls, Mike DeVaney of San Diego and two-handed bowling star Jason Belmonte of Australia, are the leaders after Round of 64 qualifying Thursday in the PBA GEICO Plastic Ball Championship at Brunswick Zone Wheat Ridge.

DeVaney leads with a 3,348 14-game pinfall (239.1 average) just eight pins ahead of Belmonte in second with 3,340.

The concept of requiring players to use identical plastic bowling balls for this tournament is designed to provide an even playing field from an equipment standpoint.

“I normally use 8-10 balls in a normal week,” said DeVaney, who owns one Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour title. “I used one ball all day today. The transition of oil is more consistent over time -- I only moved a total of six boards today between the two squads.”

Belmonte’s previous best finishes on the PBA Tour were a 10th in the PBA World Championship and a 15th place finish in the recent Denny’s Dick Weber Open.

“I was very happy to sneak in through the rabbits (PBA Tour Qualifying Round) and very happy to be in this position,” said Belmonte. “Truth be told, the first few shots in each round I threw too hard. For this pattern you had to slow ball speed down.”

“Plastic” polyester balls like the ones featured in the Plastic Ball Championship are almost exclusively used for spare shooting due to the balls’ tendency to go straight on the majority of today’s lane conditions. However, they were at the forefront of ball technology in the 1970s and early 80s. Today’s most popular bowling balls are composed of resin with exotic weight blocks, which enhance the balls’ ability to hook.
The top 32 players will now move into best-of-seven game matches on Friday until the final four are remaining for the ESPN finals airing Sunday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m. Eastern (11 a.m. Mountain).

PBA Hall of Famer Brian Voss and 2009 USBC Masters champion John Nolen were given commissioner’s exemptions into the tournament with Voss advancing to the Round of 32 by finishing 14th in qualifying while Nolen failed to advance finishing 45th.

The GEICO Plastic Ball Championship is part of the 50th Anniversary season “Extreme Swing,” which also includes the Ultimate Scoring Championship, Etonic Marathon Open, Don Johnson Buckeye State Eliminator and the GoRVing Match Play Championship. The creative format events are meant to test the greatest bowlers in the world in different areas of the game, provide television audiences with a fresh look while providing education on pertinent aspects of the game.


LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR
GEICO Plastic Ball Championship
Brunswick Zone Wheat Ridge – Wheat Ridge, Colo.
Qualifying Round Standings (14 Games), Money for Non-Qualifiers
Top 32 Advance to Match Play
1, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 3,348
2, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3,340
3, Edward VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 3,290
4, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,260
5, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 3,257
6, Michael Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 3,234
7, Robert Smith, Columbus, Ohio, 3,203
8, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 3,195
9, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 3,182
10, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,178
11, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 3,177
12, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 3,170
13, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 3,166
14, Brian Voss, Kennesaw, Ga., 3,163
15, Jeff Carter, Springfield, Ill., 3,142
16, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 3,141
17, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 3,136
18, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 3,131
19, Mitch Beasley, Puyallup, Wash., 3,122
20, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 3,118
21, Ronnie Russell, Indianapolis, 3,101
22, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3,099
23, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 3,094
24, Steve Harman, Indianapolis, 3,092
25, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 3,081
26, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 3,059
27, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 3,058
28, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 3,049
29, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 3,045
30, David Williams Jr., Omaha, Neb., 3,039
31, Billy Oatman, Chicago, 3,033
32, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 3,028
33, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 3,025, $1,800
34, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 3,023, $1,800
35, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 3,022, $1,800
36, Todd Book, Wapakoneta, Ohio, 3,006, $1,800
37, George Lambert IV, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 3,002, $1,800
38, Andrew Cain, Scottsdale, Ariz., 2,989, $1,800
39, Jason Lundquist, Delaware Water Gap, Pa., 2,968, $1,800
39, Tony Reyes, San Bruno, Calif., 2,968, $1,800
41, Ken Simard, Greenville, S.C., 2,959, $1,800
42, Craig Tuholski, Washougal, Wash., 2,953, $1,800
43, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 2,944, $1,800
44, Chester Rogers Jr., Milwaukie, Ore., 2,934, $1,800
45, John Nolen, Waterford, Mich., 2,920, $1,800
46, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 2,907, $1,800
47, Troy Wollenbecker, Miami, 2,895, $1,800
48, Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., 2,888, $1,800
49, Joe Bailey, Pittsburgh, 2,885, $1,800
50, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 2,871, $1,800
51, Ken Abner, Cincinnati, 2,857, $1,800
52, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 2,848, $1,800
53, Terrance Reeves, Valrico, Fla., 2,844, $1,800
54, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 2,840, $1,800
55, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 2,838, $1,800
56, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 2,825, $1,800
57, Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis., 2,811, $1,800
58, David Traber, Hebron, Ill., 2,796, $1,800
59, Mike Keily, Lakewood, Colo., 2,788, $1,800
60, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 2,776, $1,800
61, John Slavich IV, Schaumburg, Ill., 2,756, $1,800
62, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 2,754, $1,800
63, Kris Koeltzow, Wheat Ridge, Colo., 2,634, $1,800
64, Chris Wimpey, Aurora, Colo., 2,614, $1,800
 
Belmo knocked off Billy Oatman in a close 4-3 before advancing to the round of 16. He is now playing Jeff Carter and the score is 1-1
 
Jason eliminated from round of sixteen by Jeff Carter four games to one. Jason's only winning game was an oustanding 274.

Still yet another great effort on the toughest of all bowling stages.
 
Round of 8 scores

#1 M. DeVaney 257 244 268 279 205 1
#8 C. Barnes 279 279 279 230 257 4


#4 P. Weber 178 228 244 235 245 183 217 4
#28 J. Jurek 257 238 233 233 218 193 211 3


#15 J. Carter 235 257 264 189 255 228 245 4
#7 R. Smith 257 247 214 220 287 226 215 3


#14 B. Voss 202 225 167 224 236 192 189 3
#6 M. Fagan 178 279 241 166 218 227 245 4

DeVaney got hit by a freight train
 
You gotta be pissed if your DeVaney after 3 games. 769 & your 0-3.

250.6 ave for 5 games & you down 4-1
 
Watched he show this morning here in LA, Jeff Carter beat weber in he final, weber threw 269 to barnes 216 i think in the semi, and carter threw 220 to fagans 191 in the other semi, carter started final with spare 6 in a row, weber couldnt carry in the first half of the game and that was the difference, with Jeff Carter picking up his first tour title in i think 122 events (4th longest streak of current exempt players).

the idea of a plastic ball championship is a great idea and is a concept i think could be tried in australia with the right sponsorship to maybe include a plastic ball or 2 in the entry fee.
 
I know I am going to regret this comment but does this end the debate whether bowling balls account for high scores and does everyone know agree it's the lane conditions that effcet scoring more than the equipment.
 
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