NUGGET BOWL

champs Kris George and Chris Martin

The beautiful brand new Nugget Bowl in Pahrump hosted a great JBT event in which it was good to be a Chris or a Kris- no matter how you spelled it, you could pronounce it 'champion'.

The scratch division finals looked to be another romp up the ladder for Mojave points leader Nathan Panaligan.  In the first match, he faced the handicap division champion from the last Mojave event, Ryan Howard, who showed he was more than capable of handling the scratch action as well.  Nathan was too much in this match, however, winning 234-173.  

Nathan then defeated Cayson Coyle 233-211, and then in a very exciting, high scoring match, snuck by DJ Sloan 242-237, to advance to yet another title match.

Top qualifier Kris George was enjoying by far his best day in the scratch division, having moved up this year as the all-time handicap division title-winner (6).  He rolled only one game under 220 all day, but it looked to be his second halfway through the title match.  However, Panaligan started to struggle as well.  In the end, George had just enough to defeat Nathan 205-194 to capture his first scratch and seventh title overall of his excellent JBT SW career.

The opening match of the handicap finals was a battle of JBT rookies, as Steven Blackburn got the better of Shane DeLullo, 209-192.  209 turned out to be good enough to win match number two, but this time it was 2005 Mojave Invitational champ Jordan Ferrer rolling the 209, defeating Blackburn's 190 effort.  In the semifinals, Chris Martin came on to defeat Ferrer 229-194 to advance to the championship game.

Top qualifier Nick Seghetti was enjoying the best tournament of his JBT career as well, looking for a long awaited first title.  However, Nick struggled in the title match, and Martin remained on a roll.  In the end, Chirs defeated Seghetti 203-175, good for the first title of his JBTSW career. 

Everyone who finished in the top 5 qualifies for the 2006 JBT SW Mojave Invitational Tournament, the regular season's year end event, featuring a guaranteed minimum $1,000 first place scholarship in each division.  Top season-long point scorers also qualify for the 2006 JBT SW Touring Players' Championship, featuring a guaranteed minimum $2,000 first place scholarship per division! 

Thanks to Nugget Bowl GM Bob Hemminger, as well as Doreen and Jacqui for a great job hosting the event, and promoting our stop locally. 74 entrants shared in over $1,500 in scholarships awarded.  Please continue to help spread the word about the terrific benefits of bowling JBT SW events!