Puerto Rico takes doubles gold, USA earns silver, bronze at PABCON

Puerto Rico took the gold medal, while Team USA earned the silver and bronze medals Tuesday in the doubles event at the 2015 Pan American Bowling Confederation Men’s Championships.

Cristian Azcona and Israel Hernandez gave host Puerto Rico the gold medal with a six-game total of 2,739 (228.3 average) on the 39-foot Seoul pattern at AMF Bolera Paradise Lanes in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Hernandez led the duo with a 1,404 total, while Azcona fired 1,335. The pair were propelled to the title by a huge fifth game, shooting a combined 537 to secure a big lead on the field.

The victory gave Puerto Rico its first doubles title in the event since 1993 when Jim Porter and Jaime Almendro won with 2,486 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Team USA’s Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, South Carolina, made a late charge at the gold but came up short, earning the silver with 2,711.

Jones had the highest individual total of the day with 1,424, while O’Neill added 1,287. The U.S. pair finished with a 455 game but fell 28 pins short of the top spot on the podium.

Marshall Kent of Yakima, Washington, and Sean Rash of Montgomery, Illinois, combined to earn the bronze medal for Team USA with 2,665. Rash shot 1,379, while Kent had 1,286.

The PABCON Men’s Championships features the best bowlers from the American Zone competing for medals in singles, doubles, trios, team, all-events and match-play Masters. Competition continues Wednesday with the trios event.

2015 PABCON MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS
At AMF Bolera Paradise Lanes, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Tuesday’s results

DOUBLES
(Six games)