RP’s Suarez settles for 2nd in ABT leg

CJ Suarez failed to sustain the momentum of an explosive stint in the semifinal round as he came up short in the final and lost to Malaysian Zulmazzaran Zulkilfi, 184-265, at the close of the second leg of the $25,000 CGU Asian Bowling Tour Monday.

The capacity crowd at Pearl Plaza’s Pearl Bowling Center braced for a big victory by a hometown bet after Suarez bundled out compatriot Chester King in smashing fashion, 267-192, in a game that netted the 22-year-old Filipino the AMF’s Men’s High Game Award worth $1,000.

But Suarez suddenly lost steam in his final matchup with Zulkifli, who went on to topple the Filipino and bag the top purse of $5,000 and 75 ranking points staked in this event, the second of the eight-stage series culminating in the Grand Slam Finals in Singapore.

Suarez settled for second worth $2,300 and won 60 ranking points.

Tom Hahl, winner of the Boysen-PBC Championships who lost to Zulkilfi in the semis, finished third and took home $1,200, while King, who placed sixth in the kickoff leg in Malaysia, placed fourth ($1,100) and won 32 ranking points.

Earlier, Liza del Rosario likewise fell short of her bid in the women’s side of the event as she bowed to Singaporean Jesmine Ho, 169-185. Ho went on to beat Korean Shin Hyun Soo, 225-208, to win the crown worth $2,500.

Del Rosario settled for fourth ($800) behind Lai Kin Ngoh of Malaysia with Cecilia Yap, fourth placer in the Malaysian leg, finishing 10th place.

In a sudden death duel between the men’s and women’s champions, Zulkifli beat Ho, 280-179, to win another $1,000.

The organizing ESPN Star Sports will telecast the two-day event on June 30 at 4 p.m. with the quarterfinal round with a replay on July 4. The semis and finals will be shown on July 1, also at 4 p.m. and will have their replay on July 7. Highlights of the event will be telecast on July 10 at 5 p.m.