14
- May 2017
Dallas Strikers Repeat as
L.L.Bean PBA League Elias Cup
Champions
By Bill Vint
Player-manager Norm Duke earns Mark Roth Most
Valuable Player award
PORTLAND, Maine
- Crafty strategy and clutch
shots at every critical turn helped the Shipyard Dallas
Strikers successfully defend their L.L.Bean PBA
League Elias Cup title at Bayside Bowl in a hotly-
contested battle with the local-favorite L.L.Bean Port-
land Lumberjacks.
Led by player-manager Norm Duke, the Strikers won
the singles, trios and five-player Baker format matches
for a 5-1 victory over the Lumberjacks. The finals aired
Sunday on ESPN.
Duke, who was named Mark Roth PBA League Most
Valuable Player at the conclusion of the event, gave
Dallas a 1-0 lead with a 269-247 win over Portland’s
Ryan Ciminelli in the opening singles match. Portland
evened the score at 1-1 when Wes Malott and Kyle
Troup topped Duke and Rhino Page in the doubles
match, 238-209.
―We decided to put me first, and then me with a left-
hander (Rhino Page) in the doubles match in order to
preserve the lanes, because with all of the rev rate from
our other guys, there wouldn’t be any oil left on the
inside of the lane for anyone except me, and I needed
more help than that,‖ Duke said. ―And that left a fresher
condition for our rev guys. They were able to make the
adjustments and make the
shots, and that’s why we
came out on top.‖
Dallas regained the upper
hand with a 234-227 victory
in the Baker trios match, with high-rev power players
Tommy Jones, Bill O’Neill and BJ Moore III holding off
Portland’s Malott, Bryon Smith and Liz Johnson.
In the decisive three-point five-player team finale,
Duke’s strikes on both of his attempts, in the second
and seventh frames, were converted into a turkey and
a double ultimately made the difference in the Strikers’
237-219 victory that locked up the Elias Cup.
‖Obviously it’s disappointing, but (Dallas) bowled a
really good game,‖ said Portland manager Tim Mack.
―They’re defending champions for a reason, but we
made them earn it.‖
Going into the finals, Duke was concerned about be-
ing an underdog in terms of fan support.
―I watched the semifinal match between (Portland)
and the (Silver Lake) Atom Splitters, and that was a
wow-wow-wow moment,‖ Duke said of the Lumber-
jack’s miraculous win. ―They pulled it out, and when
you have this many people rooting you on, and that
much energy flowing their way, it’s hard to say destiny
wasn’t on their side.
―But my group never flinched. They just kept at it.
They’re champions, all of them.‖
Duke’s passion for PBA League competition has con-
tinued to grow over the program’s five-year history,
which is interesting considering he had least amount of
team experience throughout his career of any player in
the league. He never experienced high school, colle-
giate or Team USA competityion.
―That’s why you see so much excitement from me,‖
the PBA Hall of Famer said. ―I’m 53 and slowing down
a bit, but not when you jack me up like that. I feel like
I’m 17 again. This is the kind of atmosphere we all want
to play in front of. This league thing is going to take off;
we all know it and it’s going to grow.‖
Winning the MVP award, he added, took him com-
pletely by surprise.
―The MVP out of that group? No way,‖ he said.
―Normally I wouldn’t put myself in position to win an
award like that, but my crew kept saying, Norm, you’re
throwing it last. We debated until the end, but my guys
liked the way my ball was getting through the pins and
they liked my chances, so that’s what happened.‖
During the Elias Cup finals, Bayside Bowl co-owners
Charlie Mitchell and Justin Alfond, along with PBA CEO
and Commissioner Tom Clark, announced the sixth
annual PBA League finals will return to Portland in
2018 on dates to be announced.
The PBA Tour resumes competition with the inaugu-
ral eight-player Main Event PBA Tour Finals May 19-20
at Main Event-Orlando, Fla., which will air on five con-
secutive Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. EST on CBS Sports
Network beginning May 30, followed by a pair of PBA
Xtra Frame Storm Cup events, the PBA Xtra Frame
Wilmington Open from Ten Pin Alley in Wilmington,
N.C., May 26-29, and the PBA Xtra Frame Jonesboro
Open from Jonesboro Bowling Center in Jonesboro,
Ark., June 2-4. Both Storm Cup events will be covered
live, from first ball to last, on PBA’s Xtra Frame.
L.L.BEAN PBA LEAGUE ELIAS CUP FINALS
Bayside Bowl, Portland, Maine (aired Sunday on
ESPN)
Final Standings:
Shipyard Dallas Strikers ($60,000)
def. L.L.Bean Portland Lumberjacks ($50,000), 5-1.
Singles Match (one point):
Norm Duke, Dallas, def.
Ryan Ciminelli, Portland, 269-247.
Alternate Ball Doubles (one point):
Wes Malott/Kyle
Troup, Portland, def. Norm Duke/Rhino Page, Dallas,
238-209.
Baker Trios (one point):
Dallas (Tommy
Jones/Bill O’Neill/BJ Moore III) def. Portland
(Wes Malott/Bryon Smith/Liz Johnson), 234-
227.
Five-Player Baker Team (three points):
Dallas
(Bill O’Neill/Norm Duke/Rhino Page/BJ Moore/
Tommy Jones) def. Portland (Liz Johnson/
Bryon Smith/Kyle Troup/Ryan Ciminelli/Wes
Malott), 237-219.
PBA’s GEICO World Series of Bowling IX
Returns to Reno’s National Bowling
Stadium November 7-19
