Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C., won his third DyDo Japan Cup title Sundayat Tokyo Port Bowl, but it was a bittersweet 223-192 victory over his best friend because it denied Dino Castillo of Carrollton, TX, his first Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour title.
“This is very special to me,” Jones said of his 13th career title and first
since the 2007-08 season. “It’s my sixth time here and the third time I’ve won.
It’s a great honor to come here every year and it’s something that I look
forward to every season.”
It was a nerve-racking victory on several fronts. After starting with a spare
and three strikes, Jones missed a 10 pin for an open frame in the fifth frame to
give Castillo some hope. But Castillo failed to capitalize, leaving a 4-6-7
split in his fifth frame. When Jones threw a key strike in the eighth frame to
cap another string of three strikes and virtually lock up the victory, he let
out a scream of relief.
“I was excited for that shot because it meant that I only needed to stay clean
to shut Dino out,” Jones said. “That’s the position you want to be in and
hitting the pocket was becoming more of a challenge. That’s why that shot was so
important.”
On his fifth-frame split, Castillo said, “I made sure I stayed aggressive with
the shot but I got faked out. I wasn’t as far left as I should have been which
caused a bad angle when the ball hit the pocket.”
“Bowling at Tokyo Port Bowl is tough because the lanes transition faster
because it’s an older surface,” he added. “I got a couple breaks earlier. Both
(Brad) Angelo and (Mike) Fagan threw good shots in their 10th frames that didn’t
carry, or I would have lost. And then I had to bowl my best friend.”
Jones slipped past Brad Angelo of Lockport, NY, 252-247, in his first
championship round match when Angelo failed to strike on his second shot in the
10th frame. He then eliminated Mike Fagan of Patchogue, NY, in the semifinal
round, 223-213, when Fagan failed to strike on his first shot in the 10th.
Castillo, in the meantime, defeated fellow non-titlist Chris Loschetter of Avon, OH,
255-225, in the Round of 8, and Norm Duke of Clermont, FL, 277-244, in
his semifinal round match.
“It was overwhelming but humbling,” Castillo said of his first television
experience. “I still had to concentrate on bowling and not let the TV show
atmosphere, fans and just the experience of it all affect me.”
The 25th Japan Cup, televised nationally in Japan, was the final event of the
2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C. ($40,000) def. Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas
($20,000), 223-192.
SEMIFINAL ROUND (losers earned $10,000)
Castillo def. Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 277-244.
Jones def. Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 223-213.
ROUND OF 8 (losers earned $6,000)
Duke def. Park Jeon-Soo, Korea, 279-243.
Castillo def. Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 255-225.
Jones def. Brad Angelo, Lockport, NY, 252-247.
Fagan def. Choi Won Yong, Korea 257-203.
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