Del Rosario enters semis

Liza del Rosario had the Philippines’ campaign in the 2002 CGU Asian Bowling Tournament off to a hot start as the World Cup veteran became the first to make the semifinals of the event’s third leg.

Del Rosario, runner-up in last year’s World Cup, ousted Tseng Su Fen of Taipei in the first round, 177-159, before knocking off Korean Shin Hyun Soo, 219-160, in their quarterfinal match at the Pearl Bowling Center.

Ranked no. 9 in the world, Del Rosario delighted the big Sunday crowd by hitting five strikes in a row at one point in her match with Soo.

Fellow RP team member Irene Benitez later followed suit, winning her first round match with Singapore’s Valerie Teo, 223-149, to likewise earn a berth in the quarterfinals of the meet sponsored by CGU Asia, organized by ESPN Star Sports and sanctioned by the Asian Bowling Federation, with AMF Bowling Products and Singapore Tourism Board as official partners and supported by Royal Selangor.

Liza Clutario gave current world no. 1 Jennifer Tan early in the round a big scare before finally losing, 165-166.

Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Chester King also advanced in the men’s quarterfinals by downing Sam Goh of Singapore, 206-173.

Two other Filipinos – Frederick Ong and Purvis Granger – drew byes to the quarterfinals after finishing first and second in the men’s masters of the 31st Boysen-PBC International Open.

Ong enjoyed a twice-to-beat edge in the championship round, his incentive for topping the eliminations, but easily lost the advantage after bowing in the first match, 202-186, against the fifth-ranked Granger who rose from the bottom of the five-man stepladder finals to arrange a title showdown with his younger opponent.

But there was no denying Ong of the title as he beat the national mentor in the winner-take-all game, 223-217, to add the masters crown to the boys youth masters title he won earlier in the meet.

Kuala Lumpur Southeast Asian Games gold medalists Shalin Zulkifli won the same event serving as part of the CGU Asian Bowling Tour’s third leg in the distaff side under the same scenario.