Despite nursing a shoulder injury, Dabawenyo ace Jesrael Rule delivered another clutch performance to defend his Mixed Open Masters crown at the 2nd Metro Cagayan Invitational Open Championships held recently at SM Game Park, SM Downtown Cagayan de Oro City.
“It was a low-scoring and very challenging lane condition this year. A mental grind,” Rule shared in a Facebook post after the win. “Defending and trying to win back-to-back is a whole new level of difficulty. It comes with tons and tons of pressure.”
Representing the Davao Tenpin Bowlers Association (Datba), Rule adjusted his game plan by lowering his ball weight to 14 pounds as he continued to recover from a shoulder injury. He struggled early in the eight-game qualifying round, dropping to 18th place halfway through. But the veteran Davao kegler refused to fold, mounting a strong comeback in the final games to break into the top five and earn a slot in the step-ladder finals.
DATBA’s Crystal Chavez topped the eight-game qualifying round with 1,558 pinfalls, closely followed by Rule (1,557), Karl Barbosa of Sugarbowl Tenpin Association (1,525), Manuel “Man-Man” Nierra II (1,517), and Rafael “Paeng” Nepomuceno (1,516).
In step-the-ladder phase, Barbosa (179) narrowly edged out Nierra (177) and Nepomuceno (176) to advance to the next round. He then faced Rule, who entered as the No. 2 seed. Battling fatigue, Rule stayed composed under pressure, rolling 188 to Barbosa’s 178 to move on to the championship match, setting up a rematch with Chavez, just like last year.
Once again, Rule rose to the occasion. He outplayed the twice-to-beat Chavez (235-177, 212-190), to secure back-to-back titles and reaffirm his dominance in the tournament.
“What makes this title extra special is that I bowled against the same opponent as last year,”Rule said, playfully teasing his fellow Datba member. “Kapwa Datba. Yes, it’s a rematch against Ninang Tal (Both of us are from Datba. Yes, it’s a rematch against Ninang Tal). You still lost, Ninang, bleh!”
Chavez settled for first runner-up honors, followed by Barbosa, Nierra, and Nepomuceno as second to fourth runners-up, respectively.
With another championship under his belt, the two-time Metro Cagayan Open titlist already has his sights set on another defense next year.
“Will defend again next year,” Rule declared. MLSA