Babylon, NY: The LIGBT, sponsored by Storm, ran a special drop your low game sport shot tournament called: The First Pair Shootout sponsored by Bill Verni of Bilvee Electric. Phil Rivera, Franklin Square, NY won his 2nd LIGBT title (first singles title) by defeating Darryl Freeman, Forest Hills, NY 270-252. Phil earned $1,500 for his victory while Darryl took home $800 for second place. Finishing in third was Andrew Mienkiewicz, Dix Hills, NY with a 219 worth $600. Rounding out the top 4 was Kymari Nelson, Copaigue, NY with a 215 worth $500.
The First Pair Shootout started with 2 divisions, 49 & under/50+ with each group bowling 4 games and dropping their lowest game to determined prize fund position. The top 2 from each division advanced to a 1-game shootout. Additional cashers were paid using a 1 in 3 ratio.
The final shootout quickly became a 2-person match. Phil started ahead as he was getting 27 pins more in handicap than Darryl. Even though Darryl through a clean game (no opens), and Phil had 2 opens, the extra handicap helped Phil secure his title. Both bowlers threw triples in the middle of the shootout. Darryl could have put pressure on Phil if he doubled in the 10th. But when Darryl failed to strike in his last frame Phil claimed his first singles title.
As for the other 2 shootout finalists, Andrew struggled on the right lane and had to settle for third. Kymari was making his first LIGBT video shootout and it took a while for him to loosen up. But he finished strong with 3 strikes in his last 2 frames giving him confidence for his next shootout appearance.
The LIGBT sport shot event at AMF Babylon drew a sold-out field of 99 entries, paid out a $7,410 prize fund, and had 30 bowlers cash. The side action paid out an additional $4,540 bringing the total event payout to $11,950. The cut scores to cash on the “Route 66” pattern were 700 in the under division and 714 in the senior division. Peter Ramo and Donald Eubanks won Storm balls in a special raffle. Over $1,000 was added to the prize fund from Bill Verni and the raffles.
LIGBT’s next event is a sport shot tournament at AMF Garden City on Sunday, April 30th (1pm & 3pm.) To view the results of the AMF Babylon tournament please visit www.ligbtour.com. The LIGBT is sponsored by Storm, Billvee Electric, and The Law Offices of Randi Siegel.