Weber Overcomes Belmonte in History-Making PBA Triple Crown Success
STORM bowlers dominated the final rounds of the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Championsheld at Woodland Bowl, Indianapolis overnight, climaxing with a thrilling final between PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber and Aussie star Jason Belmonte.
After a convincing defeat of defending ToC champion Sean Rash 229-171 in the semi-final, Belmonte met his match against the veteran pro as Weber put the throttle down to take the title with a 224-179 victory.
It was the tenth major title for 50-year-old Weber who now shares the record with the late Earl Anthony for most PBA major titles.
The historic win also delivers Weber the PBA’s Triple Crown for an unprecedented second time. Weber has won the U.S. Open a record five times and the PBA World Championship twice - those events are the other two legs in the PBA Triple Crown.
“Despite converting a 4-10 split in the seventh frame Jason missed the same split twice,” Belmo’s mother Marisa said from her home in Orange this morning. “Naturally, they both wanted to win but Jason said in the post-match interview that he’d been beaten by an idol and one of the best players in the world, so he felt OK with that …. from the telecast you could see the whole demeanor of the match was friendly and really respectful,” she continued. “Jason finished third in the ToC last year, and second this year, so hopefully it will be a win next year,” Marisa added.
Frame by frame scores for all five Final rounds and further details can be found at www.pba.com.
Stepladder Results Match One: Jones def. Palermaa, 217-189.
Match Two: Rash def. Jones, 247-233.
Semifinal Match: Belmonte def. Rash, 229-171.
Championship: Weber def. Belmonte, 224-179.
Match Two: Rash def. Jones, 247-233.
Semifinal Match: Belmonte def. Rash, 229-171.
Championship: Weber def. Belmonte, 224-179.