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Jason Belmonte fires 300 en route to earning fourth berth in PBA World Championship finals

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01/09/12

2011-12 PBA Tour #5

Australian two-hander survives 196-179 final match against Kretzer to win Mike Aulby Division

A funny thing happened to Australian two-handed star Jason Belmonte (pictured left) in Sunday's Mike Aulby Division telecast on ESPN. He recorded the 21st nationally-televised 300 game in Professional Bowlers Association history, but it was a sub-200 game that earned him a trip to the PBA World Championship final round.

The finals of the PBA's first "major" tournament of the 2011-12 Tour have been contested November 20 on a pair of lanes specially installed in an exhibit hall at South Point Hotel and Casino in suburban Las Vegas.

The Aulby Division was the fourth and last eliminator round telecast that trimmed the PBA World Championship field of 16 finalists down to four for a Sunday, Jan. 15, tape-delay telecast at 1 p.m. ET for the $50,000 first prize, the Earl Anthony Trophy and the PBA Tour's first major title of the 2011-12 season.

Belmonte, who won his first PBA Tour title in the 2009 Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic, followed his game-two perfect effort with a less-than-perfect 196-179 victory over Brian Kretzer (right) of Dayton, Ohio, to capture the final berth in the World Championship finals at South Point Hotel Exhibition Hall.

Each of the divisional elimination contests consisted of three one-game rounds, starting with four players. The lowest-scoring player after each game was eliminated. The Aulby finals were conducted on the PBA's Shark lane condition, selected by Belmonte as the high qualifier in his group.

In Sunday's ESPN telecast, Belmonte was fortunate to survive the opening game. Kretzer's 231 led the opening round. Mike Fagan (left) of Dallas was second with a 194, Belmonte struggled through a pair of open frames for a 188, but PBA rookie Josh Blanchard (right) of Gilbert, Ariz., had even more problems in his PBA television debut, posting a 139 game to get eliminated. The PBA record for the lowest game on TV is 100 by Tom Daugherty (PBA Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas, Nev., 2011).

Belmonte righted his ship in game two, however, earning a $10,000 bonus for his perfect game. Kretzer's second consecutive 231 game was enough to eliminate Fagan, who started with five strikes but failed to convert the 3-6-10 in the ninth frame and finished with a 220.

Belmonte (left) maintained his poise into the final game, striking on four of his first five shots. He failed to convert the 5-10 and 6-7-10 splits in the eighth and ninth frames, but by that time, Kretzer's inability to string strikes proved to be his downfall.

"The struggle was to forget about the 300 because you have one more game to bowl," Belmonte said. "You kinda want those games as your last game, not second-to-last, but I was so thrilled it was difficult to put it behind me and work on the next game. I actually thought about it in the second frame. It just popped into my head and I threw a really bad shot. But the next three or four frames were OK, so I kind of loosened up.

"Then the lanes started playing tricks with me, but Brian was having troubles as well. I was fortunate he didn't find the look that would allow him to strike. If that game had gone on another four or five frames, I don't know what would have happened."

The telecast of the World Championship finals will air on ESPN on Sunday, Jan. 15, at 1 p.m. ET featuring Belmonte; Finland's Osku Palermaa, winner of the Don Carter Division; Ryan Shafer of Horseheads, N.Y., winner of the Billy Hardwick Division, and Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., winner of the Johnny Petraglia Division.

A special World Championship pre-game show will be webcast on the Wednesday on pba.com's Xtra Frame and a post-game Xtra Frame interview with the winners will immediately follow the Sunday telecast.

PBA World Championship - Mike Aulby Division Finals

South Point Exhibition Hall, Las Vegas, Nov. 20, 2011 (aired on tape delay on Jan. 1, 2012)

Round One (lowest score eliminated):
Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 231; Mike Fagan, Dallas, 194; Jason Belmonte, Australia, 188; Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 139 ($4,000).

Round Two (lowest score eliminated):
Belmonte 300, Kretzer 231, Fagan 220 ($4,500).

Championship (winner advances to PBA World Championship finals):
Belmonte def. Kretzer ($5,000), 196-179.