9th September, Kuching: Team ABAS Juniors from Sarawak captured the special Sabati Cup held on the opening day of the Sarawak International Open Bowling Championships 2025, 11 pins ahead of Team Chinese Taipei-Vietnam in second and Team Kaboom in third.

The first team of Sunway Megalanes, Malaysia got off the 4-game Bakers' Format trios with a sizzling 266 to lead Team Chinese Taipei-Vietnam's Nguyen Phuc Gia Dang-Cheng Shao-Hua and Liu Szu-Wei by 11 pins in second. Last year's champion, MMBC 1 rolled 249 for third and Team Juniors fourth.

Team ABAS Juniors' Muhammad Ihsan Fikri Bin Suffian, Muhd Isyraq Iqbal Bin Ramadhan and Muhd Farhan Bin Asgar Jahan followed it up with another 246 to take over the running after the second game. Sunway Megalanes kept pace with 225 to move into second as MMBC 1 suffered a poor 179 to slip out of contention.

Team Chinese Taipei-Vietnam, who shot 212 in their second game bounced back with 236 in their third game to become the new leader. Sunway Megalanes remained in second, just five pins away. Team Kaboom's Melvin Gilbert Gimang Anak Tingau, Mohd Uzair Irsyad Bin Noor Azrul and Muhammad Nahif Bin Hasbi Jaya occupied third.

Team Kaboom finished with 218 to take up third position with 899. Team MMBC 1 missed the podium after finishing fourth with 898 while Team Hong Kong 2 tied with Team Sunway Megalanes in fifth position with 887. A total of 66 teams part in the Sabati Cup.

The champion pocketed the top prize of RM2,000. Team Chinese Taipei-Vietnam and Team Kaboom took home RM1,000 and RM500 for finishing as first and second runners-up. YBhg Datin Dona Drury-Wee, President of Sarawak Society For the Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (SSPCA), YBhg Datin Noor Akmar, Executive Member of Sabati and YBhg Dato Enn were on hand to present the prizes to the winners.

Mr Sunny Si, President of Amateur Bowling Association of Sarawak (ABAS) and Deputy President of Malaysian Tenpin Bowling Congress (MTBC) presented a cheque of RM9,000 to YBhg Datin Dona Drury-Wee, receiving on behalf of SSPCA.

The qualifying rounds for the Sarawak International Open will kick off tomorrow with the first block of four games, divided into four squads. Players will bowl two blocks of four games each over the next two days. The Youth 3DU and Classified division Finals will be held on September 12 and the Mixed Open Finals on September 13.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Kuching, Sarawak.