Top Bahraini bowler wins Man of the Month Tournament at Funland Centre

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Ali Al Mass was crowned champion of the Bahrain Bowling Association Man of the Month Tournament after defeating Ahmed Algoud 175-134 in the title-deciding stepladder match-up.

The competition was played at Funland Centre over a week and it featured around 50 leading tenpin bowlers, including citizens and residents of Bahrain as well as competitors from Saudi Arabia.

Al Mass earned the right to play in the championship game after posting the highest score in the first step.

That featured three bowlers battling it out in a single game, and it was tightly contested, with only six pins separating the trio of contenders. Al Mass scored 235 while Ahmed Al Awadhi had 233 and Adel Al Barqi of Saudi Arabia scored 229.

Al Mass went on to face a waiting Algoud, and he rode his momentum to secure his crown. Earlier in the competition, Al Mass was able to make it through the Qualifying Round as the sixth-ranked bowler from 12 players who advanced. He had a two-series total of 1,741 pins for a 217.63 average, which included a 279 high game. Veteran Bahrain international bowler Ahmed Fareed led the field with a 1,833 total and 229.13 average.

 Ziyad Al Kheliwi of Saudi followed in second place, while Abdulrahman Al Kheliwi was third, Al Awadhi fourth, Al Barqi fifth and Al Mass sixth. The others to also advance were Mohammed Al Saud, Emerson Gotencio, Algoud, Yousef Falah, Abdulla Abdulkareem and Abdulla Dolijan.

Algoud topped the semi-final after scoring an 879 total with a 219.75 average from four games.

 That earned him his direct berth in the final game of the stepladder.

Al Baraqi followed with an 873 total and 218.25 average, while Al Awadhi was third (844, 211.00) and Al Mass fourth (843, 210.75), setting up the battle between the three.

Ranked fifth through 12th, respectively, in the semis were Adulkareem, Doljan, Fareed, Abdulrahman Al Kheliwi, Ziyaed Al Kheliwi, Falah, Al Saud and Gotencio.

 Following the tournament, the tournament’s winners have presented their prizes in an awarding ceremony attended by Bahrain Bowling Association (BBA) president Ghazi bin Abdulla Nass and BBA vice-president Saleh Al Bufalah.