By NOLAN HUGHES
PBA Communications
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — For the second consecutive year, Storm prevailed in the PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands pres. by Beatbox.
Storm qualified third in this year’s regular season, then knocked off Brunswick, Hammer, and Motiv in the stepladder finals to earn back-to-back Manufacturer’s Cup titles.
In a rematch of last year’s championship, Storm defeated Motiv 2-0 in the Race-to-Two match at Steel City Bowl and Brews.
Kyle Troup, Chris Via, and captain Jason Belmonte represented the team in both championships.
Darren Tang bowled for the team each regular season, but only in this year’s finals, while Parma’s Patrick Dombrowski was added to the team before the season.
François Lavoie stepped in as acting manager for Tyler Jensen, the president of Storm Products Inc.
Scores on the 43-foot Randy Pedersen oil pattern fluctuate throughout the two-show finals.
Storm took the first game of the championship, 183-170, as the teams combined for five splits.
With a chance to clinch the title in the second game, Storm struck in the seventh, eighth and ninth to shut out Motiv. Belmonte added three more strikes in the 10th frame for good measure.
Storm struck a bunch in their semifinal win over Hammer, notching victories of 232-160 and 213-211.
In the second game, Hammer anchor Zach Wilkins needed only a mark to win the game and force a roll-off. He missed a 3-6-10 to lose by two pins.
Storm’s closest match came against Brunswick, a team led by the left-handed trio of Graham Fach, Packy Hanrahan and Matt Sanders.
Brunswick took the first game of the Race-to-Two match, continuing their dominance after defeating Roto Grip and 900 Global in the opening single-game matches of the stepladder.
Storm rebounded in the second game to force a three-ball roll-off. Via, Dombrowski and Belmonte each struck, clinching the match for Storm after Hanrahan knocked over just nine pins on Brunswick’s first attempt.
Match Scores
Match 1: Brunswick def. Roto Grip, 279-214
Match 2: Brunswick def. 900 Global, 223-215
Match 3: Storm def. Brunswick, 2-1
Game 1: 199-192 Brunswick
Game 2: 225-187 Storm
Roll-off: 30-19 Storm
Match 4: Storm def. Hammer, 2-0
Game 1: 232-160 Storm
Game 2: 213-211 Storm
Championship: Storm def. Motiv, 2-0
Game 1: 183-178 Storm
Game 2: 237-170 Storm
Final Standings
- Storm, $33,000
- Motiv, $22,000
- Hammer, $15,000
- Brunswick, $12,000
- 900 Global, $10,000
- Roto Grip, $8,000