Australian two-hander Jason Belmonte (pictured left with ABF President Sheikh Tatal Al Sabah) )saved his best for the championship match to beat Yannaphon Larpapharat, Thailand, 245-212, and to win his second career Asian Bowling Federation Tour title Wednesday at Cozmo Bowling Center in Kuwait City, Kuwait.

The PBA champion, who finished eighth in the Kuwait Open to qualify for the ABF Tour Kuwait leg, rolled three consecutive games over 210 to advance to the title match defeating Hassan Al-Zaabi, UAE, 214-158, in the opening round and then Hussain Al-Suwaidi, UAE, 211-202, and Ayad Al-Amiri, Kuwait, 214-148.

Yannaphon (right)  rolled three big games to easily eliminate Fadhel Al-Mousawi, Kuwait, 240-203; Mohammed Janahi, Bahrain, 257-177; Cyrus Cheung, Hong Kong, 257-191, on his way to the title match.

While Belmonte bowled a clean game including a six-bagger in frames 5-10, the Thai missed a single-pin spare in the opening frame and suffered another open behind a split in the fourth frame for a 25-pin deficit.

Yannaphon rebounded with a four-bagger but Belmonte had his fate in his hands and sealed the victory with the strike in the 10th frame.

"I was very disappointed with my performance in the Kuwait Open but this win made some amends," said Belmonte (left), who was the best Asian bowler in the Kuwait Open.

"Yannaphon bowled extremely well to reach the finals and if not for his mistakes, it would have a closer match. I had a lucky break when Hussain had a split in his last frame in Round 2 otherwise I would have been knocked out."

Cheung finished in third place with Al-Amiri fourth and Ibrahim in fifth place.

The third stop of the 2011 Asian Bowling Federation Tour will be the Saudi Arabia leg on March 31st following the 5th Kingdom International Open from March 24-30, 2011 at Universal Bowling Center in Riyadh.

This year's Tour consists of nine legs - five in the Middle East without women's division and four in West Asia with men's and women's division. (Editor's note: The dates of the tournaments in Bahrain and Egypt are still to be confirmed).

Participants in the ABF Tour legs earn ranking points from 75 points for the winner to 13 points for 16th place. The top 16 men and top 16 women at the end of the season will qualify for the ABF Tour Tournament of Champions to be held in 2012.

Photos courtesy of www.abftour.com.

 

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2011 ABF Tour Kuwait leg - Men's Division only

Dubai International Bowling Center in Dubai, UAE (Feb. 27, 2011)

Championship:
Jason Belmonte, Australia, def. Yannaphon Larp-apharat, Thailand, 245-212

Semifinal:
Jason Belmonte, Australia, def. Ayad Al-Amiri, Kuwait, 214-148
Yannaphon Larp-apharat, Thailand, def. Cyrus Cheung, Hong Kong, 257-191

Quarterfinal:
Jason Belmonte, Australia, def. Hussain Al-Suwaidi, UAE, 211-202
Ayad Al-Amiri, Kuwait, def. Surasak Manuwong, Thailand, 232-209
Cyrus Cheung, Hong Kong, def. Sayed Ibrahim, UAE, 232-214
Yannaphon Larp-apharat, Thailand, def. Mohammed Janahi, Bahrain, 257-177

Round of 16:
Jason Belmonte, Australia, def. Hassan Al-Zaabi, UAE, 214-158
Hussain Al-Suwaidi, UAE, def. Khaled Al-Dubyyan, Kuwait, 223-193
Surasak Manuwong, Thailand, def. Wu Siu Hong, Hong Kong, 215-192
Ayad Al-Amiri, Kuwait, def. Mohammed Al-Rageebah, Kuwait, 200-190
Sayed Ibrahim, UAE, def. Ryan Lalisang, Indonesia, 191-154
Cyrus Cheung, Hong Kong, def. Basel Al-Anzi, Kuwait, 233-224
Mohammed Janahi, Bahrain, def. Mahmood Al-Attar, UAE, 205-188
Yannaphon Larp-apharat, Thailand, def. Fadhel Al-Mousawi, Kuwait, 240-203

 

2011 ABF Tour Kuwait leg - Men's Final Standings

Players with position, country and Ranking Points

1. Jason Belmonte, Australia, 75,0
2. Yannaphon Larpapharat, Thailand, 60,0
3. Cyrus Cheung, Hong Kong, 46,0
4. Ayad Al-Amiri, Kuwait, 45,0
5. Sayed Ibrahim, UAE, 33,0
6. Surasak Manuwong, Thailand, 32,0
7. Hussain Al-Suwaidi, UAE, 31,0
8. Mohammed Janahi, Bahrain, 30,0
9. Basel Al-Anzi, Kuwait, 20,0
10. Fadhel Al-Mousawi, Kuwait, 19,0
11. Khaled Al-Dubyyan, Kuwait, 18,0
12. Mohammed Al-Rageebah, Kuwait, 16,0
13. Wu Siu Hong, Hong Kong, 17,0
14. Mahmood Al-Attar, UAE, 15,0
15. Hassan Al-Zaabi, UAE, 14,0
16. Ryan Lalisang, Indonesia, 13,0