Finals best of
three games:
Veteran British sportscaster Phil Mison will
handle the English language commentary at
the finals of the Bowling World Cup. The
Russian language version will be hosted by a
local broadcaster. The men’s and women’s
finals will be filmed by a Russian crew from
a large
Moscow
based TV company.
The Russian version
will be beamed to the host country and other
members of the former
Russian federation.
The English language version will be edited
in a
Paris
studio for
a taped delay broadcasts to
Europe
and other markets. Mison said that there was
a good chance that ESPN would pick up the
show for broadcast to
Asia
and other distant markets.
Even
as the day of the finals dawned, Russian
producers were still debating whether to
telecast some of the show live. The finals
format -- a series of best-of-three matches
-- poses a problem for live transmission
because of time constraints
At least four cameras will cover the finals
action: two in fixed positions behind the lanes
and two with roving cameramen.
WOMEN'S SEMI-FINAL
| |
Name |
Nat |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
|
Name |
Nat |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
|
 |
Sun Hee Lee |
Korea |
226 |
258 |
- |
vs |
Tina Hulsch |
Germany |
223 |
227 |
- |
 |
WOMEN'S FINAL
| |
Name |
Nat |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
|
Name |
Nat |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
|
|
|
Sun Hee Lee |
Korea |
201 |
226 |
- |
vs |
Ann-Maree Putney
|
Australia |
280 |
247 |
- |
 |
Stage one of
the Australian mission to clinch both of the
43rd Bowling World Cup titles is now complete as
Ann-Maree Putney becomes the fifth Aussie woman
to win the World Cup. Now the load switches to
the broad shoulders of Jason Belmonte to
complete the task.
You have to go back to 1986 to see that was the
last and only time to date that any nation took
home both titles in the same year. The honors
were engraved on the 1986 Cups for Sweden in the
names of Peter Ljung, who just happens to be
representing Sweden this year, and Annette Hagre.
This would be a very nice wedding present for
Jason and fiance Kimberly. Jason will rush back
to Orange, near Sydney, tomorrow to prepare for
the upcoming nuptials.
Australia’s
Ann-Maree Putney and her coach of 16 years,
Geoff Bowness, both broke into tears Saturday
after she defeated
Korea’s
Sun Hee Lee for the women’s title in the Qubica/AMF
Bowling World Cup at the Continent bowling
center in
St.
Petersburg,
Russia.
“I told you
she was going to win,” crowed a triumphant
Bowness as he tried to stem the tears. Fellow
Aussie Jason Belmonte, the top men’s contender,
gave the winner a big hug.
The
right-handed winner rolled games of 280 and 247
to make short work of the best of three match.
Sun Hee
Lee
shot 201-226 in defeat.
Putney, whose
slide ends two feet before the foul line, earned
the top-seeded spot by leading a 32 game
qualifier. Sun Hee
Lee,
the second qualifier, defeated Tina Hulsch of
Germany
226-258 to 223-227 in the first match of the
finals. -
Mort Luby
MEN'S SEMI-FINAL
| |
Name |
Nat |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
|
Name |
Nat |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
|
 |
Andres Gomez |
Colombia |
196 |
205 |
- |
vs |
Bill Hoffman |
USA |
247 |
276 |
- |
 |
MEN'S FINAL
| |
Name |
Nat |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
|
Name |
Nat |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
|
|
|
Bill Hoffman
|
USA |
227 |
192 |
221 |
vs |
Jason Belmonte |
Australia |
147 |
268 |
181 |
 |
They call
him 'The Joker' but Bill Hoffman held the trump
card to foil Australia's chance of posting that
elusive double this afternoon. In doing so, Bill
achieved being the first American male champ
since Patrick Healey Jr stood atop the podium in
Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1995.
Maybe it couldn't have been scripted better for
these two to meet in the final. Both had been at
one another's throats through the 32 qualifying
games and then the matchplay. And the final
going the full distance, the only match to do
so, men or women, must have had the crowd
chewing their finger nails down to the bone.
If it is any consolation for being denied the
high hopes, Australia take the Bent Petersen Cup
for the highest finishing nation over the two
divisions.
* *
*
After totally dominating
the men’s division all week, Aussie Jason
Belmonte collapsed in the grand final, allowing
America’s Bill Hoffman to snare the title.
Belmonte, the famed
two-handed star, rolled his worst game of the
tournament in the opener, 147, giving Hoffman an
easy win with 227. Belmonte took the second game
easily, 268 to 192. But Hoffman caught a crucial
mid-game three-bagger in the finale and won it
221-181.
Hoffman’s victory ended
some personal World Cup frustration. He finished
11th in Portugal in 2000 and was third in
Honduras in 2003.
 Widely
regarded as one of America’s premier amateurs,
the 33-year-old right-hander
has won dozens of major international and
domestic titles. He was a major factor when Team
USA won the gold medal in the
2006 WTBA Men's World Championship in
Korea.
Hoffman is the eighth
American male to win the World Cup. The last to
do so was Pat Healey Jr. in 1995 in Sao Paulo,
Brazil. Former women’s champion and fellow
American Lynda Barnes bowed out earlier in 12th
place.
“Somebody
buy me a beer,” said the slender, crew-cut champ
as he hoisted his trophy overhead. “Make that a
pitcher!” Hoffman is a
noted beer aficionado who likes to brag about
all the offbeat brews he has sampled in his
overseas adventures. He now has a liking
for the Russian Baltica brand.
Hoffman was coached
throughout the tournament by Jeri Edwards, chief
United States Bowling Congress coach,
with whom he has been working for eight or nine
years. They blend really well
together, figuring strategy and which ball to
use. "She can see parts of the lane much better
than me," commented the newly-crowned champ.
Both the champion and the
runner-up suffered
split problems in the finale. Hoffman converted
several difficult combinations in crucial spots.
Belmonte’s gruesome first game featured a split
and two errors. He went out with a whimper in
the last game with a 4-10 split in the ninth
frame and a 1-2-6-8-10 in the tenth.
Hoffman added he learned a
lot from his fellow USA team members when he was
bowling in the Weber Cup last month in England.
"There were also lots of distractions from
people waving flags and cheering," he added.
"But I've been on TV at least 50 times, so
distractions don't bother me.
"I prefer the format here. I
was 300 pins ahead in Honduras four years ago
and then got knocked out in the second round of
the best-of-three game quarter finals. My goal
is to be inducted into the World Bowling Writers
Hall of Fame. Maybe this will help."
- Mort Luby
Champion's photo: Hero Noda, QubicaAMF
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For further information, contact Keith Hale:
keithhale679@aol.com
|
