PBA-JBT Pro-Am

champs BJ Baker & Ashley Belden

In a thoroughly entertaining and exhausting event, two veterans came out on top at the JBT-PBA Pro-Am held in conjunction with the Denny's PBA Tour Motel 6 Phoenix Classic at AMF Christown Lanes.

Two jam-packed adult Pro-Am squads before us resulted in a late start and no time to fully re-oil the lanes, so while the bowlers weren't faced with PBA conditions, they still had a very demanding situation to adjust to.  They also benefitted from the advice and encouragement from 15 PBA superstars assigned to our squad.  Among them were six with JBT experience (in the east coast JBT), including two JBT Bowlers of the Year, Tommy DeLutz Jr. and Patrick Allen- who of course is now  PBA Bowler of the Year. 

After the field was cut to the top 60%, we sent the pros on their way to Alabama, and the field bowled two more games, after which we cut to the top 5 for the finals, which began at approximately 12:30 AM-- keeping kids off the streets on Saturday nights is evidently what JBT is all about!

In the scratch division, Andy Byer won round one of the finals 184-156 over Theo Douthit.  In round two, Forrest Holland used Robert Smith spare ball-like speed to overcome a virtually oil-less track area and defeat Byer 222-209.  Holland lost the line in the semifinals, though, and Dan Eagy took advantage for a 164-159 win and his first trip to the scratch division title match.

Top seed BJ Baker used ball choice, hand position, and great projection to overcome the conditions and make them look easy in the finale.  Although Eagy rolled a very solid 191, BJ trumped that with a huge 226 to claim the win, the 15th of his increasingly impressive of his JBT SW career.

The handicap finals belonged to Ashley Belden, who recovered from a difficult title match loss in Kingman last month to win all four matches to finally claim her first JBT SW title.  She began with a 217-198 win over Californian Justin Basom.  In round two, she won a close battle over fellow New Mexican Ryan Scheer 208-192.  In the semifinals, Ashley defeated Kyle Bridgman 231-178 to reach her second straight Arizona Conference title match.

Top seed Kyle Karpovich was enjoying his best JBT SW event ever, taking over the lead in the semifinals.  He and Belden engaged in a tense battle in the title match, and Kyle's double in the 8th and 9th had him near victory.  A double of Ashley's own in the 9th and 10th got her back in it, however, and when Kyle had a heartbreaking 10th frame open, Ashley had a 192-184 win, and her first JBT SW title.   

Everyone who finished in the top 5 qualifies for the 2006 JBT SW Arizona 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 Pat Cook and everyone at Christown for allowing us to extend the format well into the Phoenix night.  Thanks also to the entire PBA Tour for allowing us to have this special squad, and doing their usual great job with our kids! 140 entrants shared in over $3,000 in scholarships awarded.  Please continue to help spread the word about the terrific benefits of bowling JBT SW events!