COLUMBUS — Did an unorthodox tournament weekend deserve any other type of ending?
After three power outages and a marathon qualifying day, the PBA60 Tristan’s T.A.P.S. Memorial event produced a surprise ending after a series of more normal match-play rounds Monday.
After dominating his final two match-play opponents with 804 and 802 three-game series, respectively, PBA Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela, now living in Lakeland, Fla., was the heavy favorite as the No. 1 seed to capture the title at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.
“Dude is on fire,” Walt Blackston, who lost to Monacelli in the match play Round of 8 802-686, said. “I feel sorry for whoever has to bowl him.”
John Chapman, a Brampton, Ontario, right-hander seeking his first PBA title, was up for the challenge — until the final frame.
With an opportunity to close Chapman out in the 10th frame of the title match, Monacelli had a crossover strike in the ninth frame and then left a 1-3-6 spare on his first ball in the 10th en route to 208. All the 63-year-old Canadian needed was a mark in the 10th for the victory.
He left a 4-6-7-10 split, getting just two pins to shoot an even 200.
“When you’re bowling, you always want to win, and I like to win,” said Monacelli, who turns 61 later this week and owns 30 career PBA Tour titles. “But not that way. Unfortunately, that happened.
“I was surprised. I thought that I’d lost, but anything can happen. But when that happens, it’s like, wow.”
Monacelli made a choice during warmups for the title match. He went away from the Hammer 3D Offset ball that had carried him to the No. 1 seed through two matches Monday and, instead, went to throwing a pair of Track Stealths — one on each lane.
“I thought I made the right changes, going to those two balls. The right lane was a touch tighter. Sometimes, when you don’t trust your instincts, it doesn’t work,” said Monacelli, who earned his first senior win of the season. “I tried the 3D Offset and it did get to the pocket, but I didn’t like the motion on the back end.
“So I threw the other balls. They looked good, and the motion was great even though they did feel a little too strong in the mid-lane. But if I had to go back and do it again, I would grab that same ball.”
It was not a smooth start for Monacelli, leaving a 1-2-4 spare in the first frame and completely missing the head pin. That was followed by a 4-10 split in the second frame.
“I swear to God, I don’t know what happened there. I was normal, relaxed and knew what I wanted to do,” Monacelli said.”But you just accept it, pick up the spare and then get as much as you can. Luckily for me, the other guy didn’t perform.”
Chapman struck on three of his first four shots, leaving only a stone 8-pin in the second, to grab the early lead. Monacelli responded with four strikes in a row.
Then Monacelli left a 4-9 split in the seventh frame — “Both splits were a little high, but I didn’t expect the results,” he added — to give the advantage back to Chapman, who had a double after spares in the fifth and sixth frames, the second strike a crossover shot.
That set up the unanticipated ending — and the decisive split in the 10th for Chapman.
“I was nervous, but I was on my good lane. I didn’t like 25 (left lane) at all, but I was lucky enough to mark on that in the ninth,” said Chapman, who made just his first cut in five PBA50-PBA60 stops. “I had all the confidence in the world on 26 (right lane), but I just threw it bad.
“I got soft and inside, and you can’t do that. You can do one, but not both.”
The second-seeded Chapman, who stopped Jasper, Ind., left-hander Gary Reh 194-187 in the semifinals by striking out in the 10th frame, almost didn’t make the trip to Columbus.
“I’ve been bowling so bad that I literally was packing up to go home after the last tournament,” said Chapman about his last performance in Jackson, Mich., last week. “A buddy of mine in Toronto called and told me that the shot here was going to play to my game and that I would be crazy if I didn’t go.
“When I got up in the morning, I told him I was driving somewhere with a C in front of it. I’m glad I came.”
Chapman, who also won his opening Round of 16 match against John DiSantis by just one pin 585-584, wasn’t bothered by TV lights or facing a Hall of Famer.
“I’ve bowled under the lights before in events in Toronto and Buffalo and bowling Amleto didn’t bother me,” said Chapman, who is general manager of a Toronto bowling center. “The nerves at the end just got to me, and that happens. But finishing second is a dream that I never expected.”
Keeping his emotions in check is something Monacelli thrives upon in pressure situations.
“I’ve been working very hard on being aware of my emotions so I know when I’m overthinking a situation,” said Monacelli, who now owns 11 PBA50-60 titles. “I go work out a lot and that makes me relax. I do things to take my mind off it.
“When I come to the lanes, my body knows what to do. It’s just about being as calm and relaxed as I can be so my body can perform.”
In earlier matches, Las Vegas right-hander Ron Mohr’s quest for three PBA60 wins in a row and second in seven days ended with a 242-228 loss to German right-hander Peter Knopp, also making his first PBA60 stepladder finals despite winning events in eight countries around the world.
Knopp then fell to Reh 226-171 in the quarterfinals.
That set up Chapman for his semifinal win — and surprising loss.
“When you bowl against really good bowlers, anything can happen,” said Monacelli, who earned $7,500 with the win. “You can throw the ball great, but that doesn’t mean you are going to win.
“You have to perform and do the same things over and over again. You can never say you can relax now, that this is easy. You have to respect these guys.”
Even through a weekend of adversity that ended the way it began on Saturday — with a strange twist.
2022 PBA60 Tristan’s T.A.P.S. Memorial Final Standings
- Amleto Monacelli, $7,500
- John Chapman, $4,500
- Gary Reh, $3,000
- Peter Knopp, $2,500
- Ron Mohr, $2,000
Match Scores
Match 1 – Knopp def. Mohr 242-228
Match 2 – Reh def. Knopp 226-171
Match 3 – Chapman def. Reh 194-187
Championship match – Monacelli def. Chapman 208-200