Gomez, who entered Monday’s nine-game match play round as the No. 4 qualifier, lost his first match, but won six of the next eight including a 224-194 victory over Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, SC, in the position round, to finish with a 21-game total of 4,964 pins, two better than Jones. Also advancing to Friday’s stepladder finals were Mike DeVaney of Murrieta, CA; Bill O’Neill of Southampton, PA, and 19-time PBA Tour champion Amleto
Monacelli of Venezuela.
Among the five finalists, Gomez is the only non-titlist and the other player never to appear on a PBA Tour telecast.
“I’ve been on EuroSport television during the AMF World Cup a few years ago, and I’ve been close a few times in PBA Tour events, a few heart-breakers,” Gomez said. “It hasn’t settled in yet. I’m amazed. I knew I had a good chance to make the TV show, but being No. 1 is amazing. I’ve been smiling for an hour and a half.
“I’m going to have to take it one frame at a time on TV,” he said. “It’s easier said than done, but I was able to manage it today.”
Gomez, 37, has lived in the United States off and on for the past 15 years, after attending the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He has bowled around the world, and worked for a time in a bowling pro shop, but ultimately decided he needed to test his skills on the American professional tour.
“You’ve got to bowl with the best and the best are on the PBA Tour,” he said. “I knew if I wanted to get better, it would be here.”
But the PBA’s Viper lane condition was the last place he expected to find success.
“Since the PBA named the patterns, the Viper has always been my worst,” he said. “But I knew when I saw it in practice earlier in the tournament it was different than the versions I’ve seen before. I made some adjustments and they worked like a charm. It suited my game really good.”
Jones, a 13-time PBA Tour winner, advanced from 14th place at the start of match play to take the lead going into his position round match with Gomez. The final match also was pivotal for O’Neill and Monacelli, who were both out of the stepladder finals with a game to go. O’Neill defeated Greg Thompson Jr. of Dublin, CA, 257-201, to advance from sixth to fourth and Monacelli, a PBA
Hall of Famer, raced past Sean Rash of Wichita, KS, 257-180, to claim the fifth spot.
The Pepsi Viper Championship was the second of five PBA “lane condition” championships which will be contested as the PBA World Series of Bowling continues this week.
The Pepsi Viper Championship stepladder finals will be conducted Friday at 1 p.m. Pacific at South Point Bowling Center for delayed airing on ESPN on Sunday, Dec. 5, at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Bowling fans around the world are following the action on Xtra Frame, the PBA’s exclusive video-streaming service. Full-year, World Series only and one-day trial memberships are available by visiting www.xtraframe.tv.
2010 PBA WORLD SERIES OF BOWLING South Point Bowling Center, Las Vegas, Nev., Monday
PEPSI VIPER CHAMPIONSHIP (After 21 games, including match play bonus pins; top five advance to stepladder finals at 1 p.m. Pacific Friday; finals will air on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Dec. 5)
1, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 6-3, 4,964.
2, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 7-2, 4,962.
3, Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif., 7-2, 4,908.
4, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 5-4, 4,905.
5, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 7-2, 4,893.
Other Cashers
6, (tie) Gregory Thompson Jr., Dublin, CA, 3-5-1, Kip Roberts, Glenallen, Va., 5-3-1, 4,820, $2,500.
8, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 4-5, 4,815, $2,200.
9, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 3-6, 4,808, $2,150.
10, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 4-5, 4,764, $2,100.
11, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 5-4, 4,748, $2,050.
12, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 4-5, 4,712, $2,000.
13, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 4-5, 4,701, $1,950.
14, Tyler Jensen, Fort Worth, Texas, 4-5, 4,564, $1,900.
15, Brian Lake, Warren, Mich., 3-6, 4,494, $1,850.
16, Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 0-9, 4,414, $1,800.
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