Professional Bowlers Association

It took traveling to another hemisphere but Amleto Monacelli, the Venezuelan with seven career Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) runnerup finishes, notched his first PBA championship in the Japan Cup. For good measure, Monacelli added a second, unofficial title, in Sendai, Japan, where he bested the 16-man PBA contingent in a separate event.

Monacelli downed home country favorite Takeo Sakai, Osaka, 248-201, in the third annual Japan Cup at Tokyo Port Bowl for the $11,000 top prize as well as a berth in the 1988 Firestone Tournament of Champions. The 26 year-old Monacelli put together six straight strikes beginning in the third frame to open up a sizeable lead and ultimately overcome the "bridesmaid" stigma that had been attached to him after so many near-misses on the PBA Tour.

As the top-seed, Monacelli viewed from the sidelines as Japanese television focused on the five-game, six-bowler, stepladder finals. Mike Aulby began the championship round by overwhelming Tom Baker, 280-181. His momentum carried over to the next match as Aulby began with eight straight strikes in routing defending champion Pete Weber, 267-197.

Aulby needed the first strike in the 10th frame to advance past third seeded Sakai, but an open frame resulted in a 235-213 win for the high Japanese qualifier among the field of 16 PBA Tour players and 16 local qualifiers from JPBA.

Sakai next took advantage of three open frames by Sweden's Mats Karlsson to prevail in the semifinal contest, 204-165. With Monacelli, Sakai, Karlsson and Aulby finishing first through fourth, the top of the standings was represented by bowlers from four different continents.

Monacelli and the other top Japan Cup PBA players maintained their domination in the Land of the Rising Sun at Sendai, some 320 miles north of Tokyo. In a 16-game match play tournament followed by a top three stepladder finals, Monacelli got past Karlsson, 218-211, when Karlsson left a "blowout" 7-10 split in the 10th frame. Monacelli then went on to down Aulby, 211-182, to add an additional $2,500 to his earnings for the trip.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

PLAYOFF RESULTS - Aulby defeated Baker, 280-181; Aulby defeated Weber, 267-197; Sakai defeated Aulby, 235-213; Sakai defeated Karlsson, 204-165; and in the championship game, Monacelli defeated Sakai, 248-201.

32-GAME TOTALS

		Name, City		Pins		Avg		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
1		Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela		7517		234.9		21-9-2		660		8177
2		Mats Karlsson, Sweden		7355		229.8		23-9-0		690		8045
3		Takeo Sakai, Osaka		7471		233.5		18-14-0		540		8011
4		Pete Weber, St. Louis		7374		230.4		18-12-2		570		7944
5		Tom Baker, Buffalo, N.Y.		7227		225.8		21-11-0		630		7857
6		Mike Aulby, Indianapolis		7221		225.7		19-12-1		585		7806
7		Yoshitaka Hokura, Tokyo		7160		223.8		18-13-1		555		7715
#8		Mark Baker, Garden Grove, Calif.		7164		223.9		17-14-1		525		7689		$2,400
9		Walter Ray Williams Jr., Stockton, Calif.		7174		224.2		17-15-0		510		7684		2,300
10		Kunihiko Nishimura, Osaka		7231		226.0		15-17-0		450		7681
11		Kent Wagner, Palmetto, Fla.		7065		220.8		19-13-0		570		7635		2,200
12		Pete McCordic, Houston		7177		224.3		15-17-0		450		7627		2,100
13		Shiro Kita, Kyota		7095		221.7		17-15-0		510		7605
14		Akio Harada, Saitama		7032		219.8		18-13-1		555		7587
15		Randy Pedersen, Santa Maria, Calif.		7142		223.2		14-17-1		435		7577		2,000
16		Tom Milton, St. Petersburg, Fla.		7138		223.1		14-17-1		435		7573		1,900
17		Toshiharu Gunjishima, Kanagawa		7060		220.6		16-16-0		480		7540
18		Brian Voss, Tacoma, Wash.		7144		223.3		13-19-0		390		7534		1,800
19		Masanori Saito, Kanagawa		6977		218.0		18-14-0		540		7517
#20		John Gant, Independence, Ky.		7054		220.4		15-17-0		450		7504		1,700
21		Tsuguo Tsukahara, Kanagawa		7019		219.3		16-16-0		480		7499
		Hitoshi Yoshida, Saitama		7079		221.3		14-18-0		420		7499
23		Sam Maccarone, Glassboro, N.J.		7026		219.6		15-16-1		465		7491		1,600
24		Dave Husted, Milwaukie, Ore.		6904		215.8		17-15-0		510		7414		1,500
25		Junichi Yajima, Tokyo		6989		218.3		14-18-0		420		7409
26		Yukio Yamzaki, Tokyo		6890		215.3		13-19-0		390		7380
27		Akio Ishihara, Chiba		6724		210.1		13-19-0		390		7114
28		Yasuyuki Sadamatsu, Tokyo		6650		207.8		13-18-1		405		7055
29		Ron Palombi Jr., Erie, Pa.		6697		209.3		11-21-0		330		7027		1,400
30		Ryo Kimur, Osaka		6607		206.5		13-18-1		405		7012
31		Takayuki Ryu, Tokyo		6515		203.6		9-22-1		285		6800
		Yoshinari Matsumua, Osaka		6470		202.2		11-21-0		330		6800