Germany shoots into lead in Boys Team event at 20th European Youth Championships

Markus Häuser, Manuel Pflügl, Andre Schröder, Michael Koch and Sascha Obst from Germany powered their way into the lead in the Boys Team event 20th European Youth Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece.

The Germans came out of the gates quickly to take a commanding lead with an 1142 game, mere 21 pins shy of the EYC record set by Sweden in the year 2000. The fiveseome added 1074 and finished with 936 for 3152 (210.13), just seven pins shy of the EYC record set by another Swedish team in the year 1992.

Reigning EYC Masters champion Sascha Obst (back row, far right) set the pace with 692 and was followed by Häuser (661), Schröder (640), Koch (616) and Pflügl (543). Obst moved into fifth place in All Events with a 212.87 average for 15 games. Häuser is 19th and Schröder 20th. The top 24 after 18 games (combined scores from Doubles, Trios and Team event) will advance to the Masters finals on Saturday.

Squad 1 leader Finland with Mikko Hirvonen, Perttu Jussila, Mikael Tuomisalo, Juuso Tiainen and Tony Ranta slipped one spot to second place with 3063 pinfall total and an average of 204.20.

Ranta (right), who led the 153-player boys field in All Events after 12 of 18 games, rolled 254, 247 and 236 for the squad-best 737 series. He has now a 3452 15-game pinfall total and an average of 230.13 and widened his lead to 110 pins with three more games to go. Latvian Vladislavs Filimonovs is second with 3342.

Only the top two Boys teams have a 200-plus average (3000 pinfall total). In the girls Division the top three teams reached the 3000-plateau: Netherlands (3226), Sweden (3139) and England (3042).

Defending Boys Team champion Sweden is in third place with 2996 and an average of 199.73. Trios gold medalists Johan Sörensen, Kim Ojala, Johan Hellden and their team mates Marcus Berndt and Joachim Karlsson, posted games of 947 and 960 before they finished with a huge 1089 to narrow the gap to the Finns to 67 pins.

The eighth-placed team after the first block of three games is merely 16 pins away from third place, making Friday's second and final block promising to be an extra exciting round.

France was the second-best team in Squad Two and finished with 2995, only one pin behind the Swedes. Teddy Raffort, Sebastien Henry, Damien Sallas, Pierre Montagne and Thibaut Lanos had games of 1026, 1019 and 950.

Henry led the way with 675. Amazingly, no French bowler is among the top 24. Henry is the top ranked in All Events in 45th place, 140 pins off the pace fort he Masters cut.

The team of the host country Greece delighted the fans and overtook the fifth place with 2994, trailing Sweden by two pins and France by one pin.

George Venetis, Michael Michas, George Stefanidis, Nikos Michas and Vangelis Krizinis started with 999 and 962 and finished with the high game of 1033. Krizinis led the team with 650, followed by the Michas twins Michael (629) and Nikos (612). Venetis and Stefanidis added 563 and 540, resp.

Norway is in sixth place another two pins behind the Greek with 2992 pinfall total and an average of 199.47. Simen Jensen, Carl Magnus Pettersen, Ole Jorgen Arntsen, Andre Langrin Hansen and Svein Ake Ek closed out the evening with a 1078 including Jensen's 255 game. 2006

EYC All Events runner-up Ek led the way with 703 to leap one spot into third place in All Events mere 35 pins behind Filimonovs with a 220.47 average.

Trailing Norway by six pins to sit in seventh place is Israel with 2986 (199.07). Doubles champions Aviv Alfital and Ben Fishler and their team mates Ori Sonnenschein, Oron Cohen and Dor Speizman had games of 992, 1005 and 989 for 2986 pinfall total and an average of 199.07.

Fishler led the way with 664 including a 257 in the last game to sit in fourth place in All Events with 219.33 average.

Rounding out the top 8 is the team from Austria, another six pins behind the Israelis with 2980 (198.17). Alexander Kaas, Brian Bognar, Daniel Gross, Sebastian Klaer and Benjamin Kubalek had games of 1015, 974 and 991.

Kubalek shot the second-highest series of all players with 722 (234, 257 and 231) to rocket into 14th place in All Events with a 209.53 overall average.

Rounding out the top 16 teams who will bowl together in the 5pm (GMT +2) Squad on Friday are England, Cyprus, Russia, Denmark, Netherlands, Poland, Ireland and Estonia. All other teams will bowl at 12.30.


Boys Team Results

Boys All Events