He started slowly. It looked like he might have been on the verge of elimination in the Quarters. He had a ridiculously tall task in the Final 4. It didn't matter, Chase was up to the challenge.
A hearty congratulations to Adam Chase for winning this past weekend's Bowlage.com Presents Strike 10 Bracket Cheetah Challenge from Strike 10 Lanes Deer Park, his second Bowlage.com chip. In a full 32-person field bowled on the 2020 PBA Cheetah Pattern complete with some of the best bowlers in the Northeast, it really was anyone's title to take from the get-go. While Chase started slowly in his first round match, it looked as though the person to beat from the beginning was Alex Cavagnaro. In a relatively low scoring first few rounds, Cavagnaro led the way, firing off games of 258 and 246 in the first round to get by Anthony Licciardo. In round 2, Cavagnaro squared off in a monster match against his long-time friend Joe Scianna, but once again, with games of 278 and 213, Alex proved too much. And the Quarterfinals was more of the same, as Cavagnaro pumped out a 225 and 268 to get by Justin Warhol on his road to the semis.
Chase, meanwhile, was biding his time, shooting a 412 in the first round to narrowly take down Jack Kampf before a 1-game, injury-induced walkover in round 2 paved his way to the quarters. In the 3rd round, Chase faced up-and-comer Kevin Mavrich, who happens to work at Strike 10 Lanes. Mavrich proved to be up to the challenge, taking a commanding 38 pin lead heading into the second game, 247 - 209. However, Chase was not to be denied, starting Game 2 with the first 6 strikes, en route to a 248 - 191 win and moving onto the semis.
The two 900-men, Joe Novara and Jeremy Milito, were the other 2 semifinalists, setting up a dream Final 4 of Chase vs. Novara and Cavagnaro vs. Milito.
In the first semifinal match, Chase took an early 9-pin lead into the second game with a 256 - 247 win and it looked like their match was going to be decided in the last frame or two. However, a few costly, high-flush 9 pins cost Novara, and Chase moved on with a 267 - 215 win in his second consecutive Bowlage.com tournament finals appearance.
In the other semi, Cavagnaro, who as we explained earlier had "the nuts" in his first 3 round matches, totally lost the pocket and found himself trailing by 36 pins headed into his second game match with Milito. Alex was able to regroup, but Milito was simply too much, winning the set 409 - 398 and setting up a finals showdown with Chase.
With Chase shooting the higher series in the semis, he had the choice of pair and chose lanes 7-8. However, during practice, there was a 10-minute delay due to a lane malfunction, and this delay seemed to adversely affect Milito, as he got off to a very slow start, leaving the Greek Church in the first frame and missing a 7-pin later on. With Milito struggling, Chase took full advantage, firing off 5 of the first 6 strikes and headed into the 2nd game, it looked as if a blowout was on the horizon, with Chase nurturing a 78 pin cushion. Knowing that he needed to get off to a quick start, Milito started with the front 3 in game 2 in an attempt to make it a competitive match, however a ringing 7-pin followed by a few costly mistakes coupled with Chase filling frames led to his downfall, and Chase won the match and his second consecutive Bowlage.com chip with a 442 - 374 finals match win and an $1,150 first place prize.
The final cashers list included Chase, Milito ($600), Novara ($300), Cavagnaro ($300), Mavrich ($100), Fred Ferreira ($100), Justin Warhol ($100) and Joe LaBargo ($100). Congratulations to all bowlers on another solid turnout. Stay tuned for future Bowlage.com tournaments and events!
