RP coach cops Asian Tour title

SINGAPORE – Teacher knows best.

This proved true for Philippine team coach Purvis Granger when he overcame serious challenges from his players Sunday to crown himself men’s champion in the 2002 Aviva Asian Bowling Tour Grand Slam Finals at the Cathay Bowl Safra Resort here.

First on his casualty list was Filipino student Chester King, whom Granger trounced in a tense semifinal duel, 202-187, to arrange a final showdown with another protégé, Guam’s Duane Camacho.

Called "Big Daddy" for his huge size, Camacho, who rolled past Busan Asiad triple gold medalist Remy Ong of Singapore in the quarterfinals and Thai Teerapol Sajjaraktrakul in the semis, had a magnificent start in the finals only to falter in the end.

Granger’s pair of turkeys in the fourth to sixth and eighth to 10th frames sealed the victory worth $20,000 courtesy of event sponsor Aviva Asia and supporters ESPN, AMF, Royal Selangor and the Singapore Tourism Board.

"I’ve never been so happy in my life," said an ecstatic Granger.

But Granger, ranked No. 1 going into Grand Slam Finals following a victory in the Manila leg and a second place finish in the Hong Kong stop, failed to take home a bonus prize of $1,000 after losing to women’s champion Shalin Zulkifli of Malaysia in the ESPN Champions’ Challenge, 226-225.

Zulkifli, the Busan Asiad Masters gold medal winner, proved too much for Filipina Liza del Rosario and countryman Lai Kim Ngoh in the semis and finals of the women’s championship. Her victory also rewarded him a $10,000 cash pot.

Zulkifli, who added another $1,000 to her account for the AMF women’s High Game Award with a 299, downed del Rosario in the semis, 228-192, before toppling Lai in the all-Malaysian finale, 231-204.

Popular here for his comic grin, Camacho, who has Filipino lineage, took home $7,100 for runner-up honors plus $1,000 for the AMF men’s High Game award with a 287.

Sajjaraktrakul finished third for $2,500 while Hong Kong leg titlist King, who bested power bowler Andrew Frawley of Australia in the round-of-eight, settled for fourth spot for $2,400.

Del Rosario, the Manila leg winner, had the chance to pull the rug from under Zulkifli but a split in the seventh frame enabled the Malaysian No. 1 to pull away.

"If not for that mistake, I would have been in a better position to put the pressure on her," said Del Rosario minutes after the loss. "Sayang talaga dahil I really prepared for this tournament."

Del Rosario, nonetheless, went home proud as she finished tied for third with the last of the Koreans, Koo Hyun Jee. Del Rosario and Koo, who lost to Lai in the semis (192-195), went home with $1,450 each.

The other RP entries, Irene Garcia-Benitez and four-time World Cup champion Paeng Nepomuceno, consoled themselves with $870 and $500, respectively. Benitez almost made it to the last eight by finishing ninth while Nepomuceno could not recover from a long 12-hour trip from the United States and finished 18th and last.