Tasmania Tridents storm into Bowls Premier League finals
Congratulations to the Tasmania Tridents who beat two of the top three teams today to climb into fourth position – their highest even finish – but unfortunately were beaten in a tiebreaker in the first elimination final to finish their run at Bowls Premier League#19 which finished at the Moama Bowling Club tonight.
The last two roster games were played this morning with the Tridents winning both. In the first game they beat Moreton Bay Pirates in straight games winning 6-3 and 6-6. In the second game, the Tridents came from behind to eliminate Tweed Head Osprey from the finals, losing the first set 2-5 before bouncing back to win the second set 8-6 and the tie breaker 1-0.
The ladder at the end of day five:
- Sydney Lions 33 points
- Melbourne Pulse 33 points
- Moreton Bay Pirates 30 points
- Tasmania Tridents 30 points
- Adelaide Pioneer 27 points
- Moama Steamers 27 points
- Tweed Head Osprey 27 points
- Perth Suns 24 points
- Gold Coast Hawks 21 points
- Melbourne Extreme 18 points
The first elimination final between Tasmania Tridents and Adelaide Pioneer went to a tie breaker. Adelaide won a close first set 7-5 but the Tridents were too good in the second set winning 8-2 before Adelaide won the tie breaker 3-0.
The Tridents played some great bowls all week against many of the world’s best bowlers and finished strongly winning their last three games to finish in fourth position. It was a massive improvement for the Tridents with their best ever finish in fourth place, compared to BPL#18 when they only won four games and finished in last position. Congratulations and well done to the players – Rebecca Van Asch, Taelyn Male and Rob McMullen and their coach Mark Strochnetter.
Melbourne Pulse capped off an incredible week of bowls at the Bowls Premier League #19 winning its third BPL title in five years. Moreton Bay Pirates defeated Adelaide Pioneer in straight sets 8-1 and 7-3 in the second elimination final. Melbourne Pulse defeated ladder-leaders Sydney Lions 4-10, 15-12 and 1-0 in a record high score in the semi-final. After finishing on top of the ladder, the Sydney Lions went out in straight sets, losing to the Moreton Bay Pirates 2-6 and 2-7 in the preliminary final. The grand final was won by Melbourne Pulse in a tie breaker, losing the first set 1-10 before winning the second set 7-4 and then the tie breaker 1-0.