News Detail

Finn conquers three lefties
By a staff reporter (2/27/2010 11:45:00 AM: DIBC)

26th February, Dubai: No. 4 seed, Osku Palermaa conquered three lefties, Naif Oqab of UAE, Remy Ong of Singapore and Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE to bag the Open Masters title of the 1st Dubai International Open Bowling Tournament on Friday.

Osku Plaermaa, who reached the stepladder finals after finishing fourth in the Round 4 finals earlier, struck out from frame nine to beat No. 3 seed and the first left-handed Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE, 198-183 to advance to the next match.

A closely fought second match against No. 2 seed and a second lefty, Remy Ong of Singapore saw the Finn finished with 201 and all Ong needed was to spare his bonus frame but encountered a split to go down to the Finn with 190.

In the third match against a third lefty and top seed, Naif Oqab of UAE, a single pin miss in the sixth frame appeared to end Palermaa's fine run but Naif too missed pin 7 in the seventh frame.

Another open frame in Naif's seventh frame allowed the Finn to take the match, 203-176 forcing the match to a sudden-death decider. Palermaa was in total control in the decider, winning the match 217-193 to win the title and take home the top prize of 60,000 AED (approx. USD16,500).

"I had two lucky breaks, one in the match with Shaker and the other with Remy," said the 26-year-old 2009 European Tour champion, Osku Palermaa after the victory. "The lanes are extremely tough and it certainly favoured the left-handers.

"But the two matches warmed me up quite well and I was totally relaxed in the match against Naif. My last title was winning the World Ranking Masters in Naples almost a year ago, so this victory is very welcomed.

Naif was denied the victory on home soil in the inaugural Dubai Open and had to settle for 30,000 AED. Remy Ong won 15,000 AED for finishing second runner-up while Shaker took home 7,500 AED as third runner-up.

In the earlier Round 4, Remy Ong led most part of the 8-game finals until the seventh game in which Naif Oqab took over the running and ended the round in pole with 1843 plus 1702 he totaled from yesterday's Round 3 for a grand total of 3545.

Remy Ong finished second with 3540 and Shaker Al-Hassan third with 3506. The champion scrapped through to the stepladder finals in fourth with 3469. Mohamed Khalifa Al-Qubaisi of UAE and Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia took fifth and sixth spots.

The fourth Emirati in the finals, Hussain Al-Suwaidi and the sole Filipino and Round 2 leader, Jordan Evan finished seventh and eighth places. Bowlers from 13 countries participated in the tournament organized by Dubai International Bowling Center.

The main sponsor was Grand Capital LLC with SuperPrice Car Rental, National Quarries and United as co-sponsors. The tournament is santioned by Emirates Bowling Federation, Asian Bowling Federation and World Tenpin Bowling Association.

SHAKER ALI EMERGES CHAMPION
By Elsie Marcial (10/10/2007: dibc)

UAE National Team bowler Shaker Ali beat a formidable field of bowlers to emerge champion in the Open Division of this year’s Ramadan Bowling Scratch Tournament at Dubai International Bowling Centre. Shaker rolled a 10-game series of 2085 in the finals to clinch the title, consistently bowling high scores that kept him in pole position from the first game until the 10th and last game.

Another UAE national player and strongest contender after back-to-back championship titles in the Sharjah Channel 2 Bowling Tournament and UAE AFOC Ramadan Games 2007, Hussain Al Suwaidi, placed second with a close final score of 2074, falling short of Shaker’s score by 11 points after an unusual miss in the tenth frame of the final game.

The third place was taken by George Maniozo of the Philippines who scored 2072, followed by Hamad Al Majidi (2018), Sayed Ibrahim (1984), Saeed Obaid (1967) and Jamal Ali (1950) all from the UAE.

Last year’s title holder, Andrew Frawley of Australia who was plagued by a recent injury settled for 8th place with a score of 1938. Completing the Top 16 winners are Art Oberio of the Philippines (1918), UAE’s Mohammad Al Muhairi (1915), Fahad Falah (1890), Mahmood Al Attar (1828), Sultan Al Marzooqi (1826), Ali Al Mutawa (1785), Adel Lootah (1765), and Adel Al Marzooqi (1714).

Rachel Lapig clinched her first ever championship title in the women’s division with a series of 1605, followed by Raquel Hayes at 1594, Uella Marcial at 1588 and Clarisse Corpus with 1574.

Cash prizes and trophies were awarded to the winners courtesy of Dubai International Bowling Centre with support from Western Union.