Monday, May 2, 2016

ELIAS CUP FINALS SUNDAY

SUNDAY ON ESPN: Stage is Set for PBA League’s Elias Cup Finals Sunday at 1 p.m. ET

PORTLAND, Maine – After three weeks of team competition at Bayside Bowl, the stage is set for the PBA League championship match showdown between the GEICO New York City WTT KingPins and the GoBowling.com Dallas Strikers Sunday on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET.  The winner will claim the coveted fourth annual Elias Cup.

The KingPins and Strikers earned their finals berth after wins in semifinal round matches that aired Sunday on ESPN. The KingPins won the inaugural Elias Cup in 2013 in Indianapolis. The Strikers have never finished higher than fifth place in three previous PBA League competitions.

Helped by the first perfect game in PBA League history, the Strikers posted a dramatic best-of-two-game victory over the Barbasol Motown Muscle while the KingPins notched a 2-0 sweep of the hometown-favorite Shipyard Brewing Portland Lumberjacks.

The KingPins, managed by Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, will field a lineup led by PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber, five-time Tour winner Mike Fagan, three-time Tour winner Scott Norton, 2014 Rookie of the Year Marshall Kent and former Team USA member John Szczerbinski. The Strikers will be led by player-manager Hall of Famer Norm Duke along with 16-time Tour winner Tommy Jones; seven-time Tour champion Bill O’Neill, and rising young talents, BJ Moore and Shawn Maldonado who have yet to win a PBA Tour title.

The PBA League championship will be decided in a multi-event contest including singles, alternate-ball doubles and Baker trios matches worth one point each, followed by a five-player Baker team finale worth three points. If the two teams are tied after the Baker team match, a roll-off will determine the winner.

The Elias Cup is named after the late PBA founder and Hall of Famer Eddie Elias.

No comments: