December 22, 2020 ddziomba

Houston, Texas – A.J. Chapman, who now lives in Lewisville, Texas, teamed up with Keith Lesko, of Prosper, Texas, to win the eighth annual PBA50/PBA Houston Emerald Bowl Southwest Doubles, presented by Bowling Dynamix on Sunday.

The winning duo led the eight-game qualifying portion of the event by 45 pins over the duo of PBA Hall of Famer Chris Barnes and PBA rookie Dimitri Cruz, both now living in Denton, Texas. Close behind them was the team of Thomas Hess, from Granger, Iowa, and Sean Lavery-Spahr, from Pasadena, Texas. The three teams battled throughout the ten-game round robin match play finals, with numerous lead changes.

With only 24 pins separating the top three going into the final game position round, any of the three teams could come out on top. Top-seeded Barnes/Cruz fell to second place Hess/S. Lavery 450-436, with Hess and Lavery-Spahr winning all 50 of the games bonus pins. However, Chapman’s final game 267 paired with Lesko’s 214, giving them enough pinfall to claim the lead and victory. The winning team was awarded $7,000. Hess and Lavery-Spahr collected $3,600 for second and Barnes and Cruz received $2,400 for third place.

PBA50/PBA HOUSTON EMERALD BOWL SOUTHWEST DOUBLES, presented by Bowling Dynamix Emerald Bowl, Houston, Texas, Sunday Final Match Play Standings (after 18 games, including match play bonus pins):

  1. Keith Lesko/AJ Chapman   +1693   $7,000
  2. Thomas Hess/Sean Lavery-Spahr   +1651   $3,600
  3. Chris Barnes/Dimitri Cruz   +1615   $2,400
  4. Ron Mohr/Nate Garcia   +1395   $1,900
  5. Jay Nephew/Anthony Simonsen   +1353   $1,600
  6. Paul Fleming/Anthony Lavery-Spahr   +1318   $1,400
  7. Chris Warren/a-Justin Bui   +1272   $1,300
  8. Walter Ray Williams Jr/Ildemaro Ruiz   +1124   $1,200
  9. Paul McCordic/a-Billy Rogers   +1096   $1,100
  10. Rick Minier/Shawn Maldonado   +1033   $1,050

n-Denotes non-PBA member
300 Games: Chris Barnes, Wesley Low, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Shawn Maldonado