TWO-TIME Bowler of the Year Gabriel Velasco lived up to expectations as he shocked twice-to-beat Ivan Awid twice to capture the Datba Monthly February Finals tournament held at SM Lanang Premier Bowling Center over the weekend.
Challenger Velasco, a 24-year-old Davao Doctors College nursing graduating student, survived past Awid, 201-200, in the first game of their step-the-ladder finals showdown before toppling Awid anew, 223-180, in the second match.
“This is my first monthly title for the year. Pressured rin (sa finals) kasi magaling din sya (Awid) and number one sya from first game all the way to the last game (of the eliminations),” Velasco told SunStar Davao in a Facebook on Tuesday, March 3.
He said he almost lost the first game but was glad he still pulled off with the win.
In the six-game eliminations, Awid garnered a total of 1,285 pinfalls with a handicap of 17 followed by Velasco (eight) with 1,217 in second, Ulyses Caturan (30) 1,157 third and Joshua Disuacido (15) 1149 fourth.
In the step-the-ladder, No. 4 Disuacido rolled past Caturan, 205-173, only to succumb to No. Velasco, 222-238. Thus, the latter set up the championship encounter against Awid.
Velasco, who won the 2018 and 2019 Datba Bowler of the Year titles, received a cash prize of P10,000 for his monthly finals feat while Awid, Disuacido and Caturan took home P5,000, P3,000 and P2,000, respectively. They also received trophies in the bowlfest organized by Davao Tenpin Bowlers Association (Datba).
Velasco also copped the highest single finals award after rolling 265 pins while Arthur John Galendez bagged the highest single qualifying (246).