TITLE favourites Eagles Strikers and upstarts Willies Strikers are set to contest tomorrow’s Wray and Nephew skittles final at the Bejon Sports Bar on Molynes Road.
Both teams advanced to the final in contrasting styles during last Sunday’s semi-finals at the JPS Sports Club.
Willies earned a hard-fought, come-frombehind 6-4 victory over Starliners, while Eagles cruised to a 6-2 victory over Mr C.
In the opening encounter, Starliners took an early lead after Trevor Facey easily beat an unimpressive Karyl Walker 980-210, but Willies’ Ricardo ‘Quenchie’ Grant pulled his team level with a 980-860 win over Everald ‘Slicer’ McPherson.
Adrian Dixon kept Starliners in the lead by beating Anthony Lawrence, but Willies again drew level when Damion Barrett outplayed Owen Smith 990-290.
Starliners then gained a two-game ascendancy when Junior Smith and Norman Guthrie beat Winston Furze and Courtney Dixon. But those two wins would prove to be the last for the Waltham Park Road-based Starliners as Willies’ former singles champion Winston ‘Wimpy’ Lyew, Frederick ‘Show’ Brooks, Nakia Duncan and captain Frederick Cooper all registered wins to lead their team into the final.
Favourites Eagles Strikers lived up to their billing by racing into a 3-0 lead courtesy of Clinton ‘Fly Up’ Thompson, Everett Melbourne and reigning singles champion Robert ‘World Man’ McKen.
Mr C managed to restore some respectability to the scoreline when Uriah Gowie got by Ralston ‘Flaw Flaw’ Robinson, 1,680-260, and Herman Thorpe beat Frederick Marsh, 560-430.
Keito ‘Bibi’ Stephens could have levelled the scores, but decided to showboat and toppled the major pin on the last ball sinkers shot to leave Emmanuel Munda and the Eagles supporters jumping for joy.
From there on, it was all Eagles Strikers as veteran Leslie ‘Toothpick’ Puranda beat his former teammate Ruddy Williams, 850-140, and Rudolph ‘Nyah’ Mullings defeated Aubyn Flynn.
While Eagles are favourites and are used to final appearances, this is virgin territory to Willies Strikers, most of whose players have never played on the big stage before.
However, the game of skittles is filled with uncertainties and while the Eagles players are bubbling with confidence, Willies are aiming to ensure the final will be no cakewalk for their more fancied opponents.
In the opening encounter, losing semi-finalists Mr C and Starliners will cue off for third-place honours.
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