In every measurable way, it was a GREAT weekend at Cascade! Every squad went off on time and we even started the Finals early. The "Monster Finals" format that we used for the first two rounds, for the record 35 Finalists, seemed to be a popular method for handling extra large numbers in the finals. When the numbers were all totaled, we cracked the $10,000 mark for this event, at $10,310. This also was a nice way to say goodbye to the "Old" Cascade! The next time we see it, there will be a 1.5 million dollar facelift and the old wood lanes will be gone. One of the new owners even called during the Tournament, from vacation in Puerto Rico, to see how it was going. We'll look forward to all the changes this summer.
The EQC Champion, Samson Ibale, won his first Title in the last 3 years. Samson was one of the original 9-Tap members, winning 4 times in the first 3 years on the Tour. So, his 5th Tour Championship has just been on hold for a few years. This win reads like a story line, where the main charactor never gives up! Samson entered on Saturday and his 960 missed the cut by only ONE PIN. He tried again on Sunday, shooting two pins better with a 962, but this time it was good enough to qualify. After narrowly making it through the first round of the Finals, Samson caught fire, blazing through the Brackets to the Final match. The last match pitted Samson versus his friend, Mholee Divina, in a tight game. In the 10th frame, a small split by Samson opened the door for Mholee, but Mholee had a split of his own (big 4), leading to a 9 pin win for Samson and a $2,044.00 payday. Samson also enjoys Basketball, Ping-Pong and Volleyball, when not working at Personix. He wanted to thank his girlfriend April, the Jarata family and his other friends for staying and supporting him through the long afternoon.
Mholee Divina had some other tight matches on his way to winning $1,000.00 for his 2nd place finish, just missing what would have been his 2nd EQC Championship. One close one, was a 15 pin win against Pearl Sedeno in one of the Final 4 matches. Pearl tied for 3rd and $500 by knocking out a couple of other ladies with MONSTER scores. Pearl beat Lisa Ohm 255 to 237 and Vicki Lawrence 283 to 263. The other 3rd place finisher was Magic Bristol ($500), who looked like he was on cruise control until he ran into an even hotter Samson.
Bracket finals (w/hdcp) - Elite 8: Samson Ibale 253 d. Mick Hodge 219, Magic Bristol 270 d. Mike Sanborn 213, Pearl Sedeno 255 d. Lisa Ohm 237, Mholee Divina 270 d. Adam James 158. Final 4: Samson Ibale 277 d. Magic Bristol 205, Mholee Divina 202 d. Pearl Sedeno 187. Final: Samson Ibale 223 d. Mholee Divina 214.