Story And Photo Courtesy Of PBA.Com
ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Rhino Page of Orlando finished with a 2,341 10-game pinfall total after the secondround Tuesday to lead PBA Cheetah Championship qualifying and 16 players who advanced to match play in the first event of PBA World Series of Bowling X at Thunderbowl Lanes.
Bowling on PBA’s 33-foot Cheetah lane condition, the six-time Go Bowling! PBA Tour winner bowled games of 259, 235, 187, 258 and 209 in Tuesday’s first round and 257, 268, 194, 217 and 257 in the second round.
“Right now, everything is where it needs to be physically,” said the 35-year-old Page, who has three fifth-place finishes this season. “Every day is a new tournament so, in addition to the physical game, I really need to concentrate on my focus as the tournament progresses.
“I’m a little surprised to do this well on this condition because it’s been difficult for me lately,” Page added. “Earlier in my career it was always one of my best so maybe things have turned around for me on this condition.”
The top 16 players will advance to single elimination match play on March 18. After match play, the top four players will advance to the Cheetah Championship live finals on FS1 March 18 at 8 p.m. ET. The Cheetah Championship finals will be the first of five prime-time WSOB X telecasts on consecutive nights (March 18-22).
Rounding out the top four after Cheetah qualifying were 10-time tour winner Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa.; three-time tour winner Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 2,310 and Kyle Sherman, O’Fallon, Mo., 2,306.
The total pinfall from the qualifying rounds of the Cheetah, Chameleon (Wednesday) and Scorpion Championships (Thursday) also serve as qualifying totals for the PBA World Championship – the season’s third major – which will culminate with the live FS1 finals on Thursday, March 21 on FS1 at 8 p.m.
WSOB X competition continues Wednesday with Chameleon Championship qualifying rounds at 12:30 and 6:30 p.m. ET.
All qualifying and match play rounds are live-streamed by PBA’s online streaming partner, FloBowling. For subscription information, visit FloBowling.com. FloBowling also will live-stream all five FS1 telecasts as they air to its international audience.
Fans also can track WSOB scoring as it happens by visiting the Live Scoring link on PBA.com.
PBA CHEETAH CHAMPIONSHIP
Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., Tuesday
Final Qualifying Standings (after 10 games; top 16 advance to Cheetah Championship Round-of-16 single-elimination match play on March 18)
1, Rhino Page, Orlando, 2,341.
2, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 2,323.
3, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 2,310.
4, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 2,306.
5, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 2,303.
6, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 2,299.
7, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 2,288.
8, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 2,282.
9, Mykel Holliman, Collierville, Tenn., 2,275.
10, Matthew McNiel, Minneapolis, Minn., 2,272.
11, (tie) Dick Allen, Lexington, S.C., and Dom Barrett, England, 2,268.
13, Brad Miller, Lees Summit, Mo., 2,251.
14, (tie) Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., and Darren Tang, Las Vegas, Nev., 2,246.
16, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 2,244.
Did not advance:
17, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 2,241.
18, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 2,232.
19, Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 2,229.
20, (tie) Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., and Pascal Winternheimer, Germany, 2,226.
22, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 2,221.
23, Kenneth Ryan, Farmingdale, NJ, 2,217.