Liza, Paeng crash out of World Cup

MELAKA, Malaysia – The Philippines’ Liza del Rosario and Paeng Nepomuceno bowed out of the 45th QubicaAMF World Cup here Thursday with the former bowing out in the semis and the latter falling three pins short of earning a quarterfinal slot.

The 30-year-old Del Rosario, a four-time international finalist, reached the semifinals of the ladies division but won only two of eight head-to-head matches and wound up sixth with 8575, including bonus pins.

Nepomuceno, 52, fell three pins short of making it to the quarters, settling for 25th at 4960 pins for a 24-game average of 206.67 and failing in his bid to bag a fifth crown in the world’s premier bowling tournament.

“Paeng had difficulty stringing strikes. But he still managed to finish his third qualifying block with games of 207, 187, 238, 190, 195, 213, 192 and 227.

New Zealand’s Sonny Reguerra matched Nepomuceno’s 24th game to hold on to 24th place.

Del Rosario sparkled after she rallied from 11th place in the first right-game block, advancing to the semis in seventh spot. But her game soured a bit in the head-to-head semifinal contests.

Only the top three bowlers remained in the hunt for the crown after eight games, with Canada’s Caroline Lagrange showing the way among the women.

Malaysia’s Siti Safiyah Amirah came in second while England’s Zara Giles checked in third.

Joining Del Rosario on the sidelines were Korea’s Baek Seung Ja, Sweden’s Helen Johnsson, Latvia’s Diane Zavjalova and the United States’ Tennelle Milligan.

Korea’s Choi Yong Kyu kept his dominating performance to earn top spot in the men’s finals with 9182 pins, including bonuses.

Canada’s Michael Schmidt, seeking a back-to-back triumph, came in second at 9062 while Indonesia’s Ryan Leonard Lalisang was third at 8988.

Those who failed to enter the finals were Sweden’s Martin Larsen (8964), American Walter Ray Williams Jr. (8919), Malaysia’s Zulmazran Zulkifli (8842), Thailand’s Surasak Manuwong (8743) and UAE’s Hussain Al Suwadi (8512).