Go Bowling | 2019 PBA Indianapolis Open

Perfect Game Boosts Belmo Back Into Indy Lead

Perfect Game Boosts Belmo Back Into Indy Lead

Jason Belmonte fires a 300 in the final game of the second round of match play to move back into the lead at the 2019 PBA Indianapolis Open.

Feb 22, 2019 by Lucas Wiseman
All 12 Strikes From Belmo's 300 In Indy

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As quickly as Jason Belmonte dropped out of the lead Friday at the 2019 PBA Indianapolis, he just as quickly moved back into the top spot to close out the second round of match play.

After shooting 166 and losing in the seventh game of the round to drop to second place, Belmonte fired a 300 game to close out the block and stay in the lead heading into the final round of match play.

Belmonte has now posted a 9-7 record and total of 8,051, a 228.85 average, at Woodland Bowl and used a 300-197 victory over Marshall Kent to end the second round to bolt back into the lead by 186 pins.

Results: PBA Indianapolis Open Match Play Round 2

Wes Malott briefly moved into the lead with a game to go by four pins over Belmonte thanks to a 279-212 victory over DJ Archer, while Belmonte lost 225-166 to Osku Palermaa.

Belmonte moved to the pair Malott shot 279 on and fired a 300 game, while Malott moved to the pair Belmonte shot 166 on and managed just 140 in a loss to Shawn Maldonado, who had 279.

Malott sits in second place with a 10-6 record and total of 7,865, while PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke made a huge jump from 14th after the first round of match play to third with a 10-6 record and 7,812 total. Duke went 7-1 in Friday’s second round of matches.

Rhino Page, who was tied with Duke in 14th coming into the day, also made a big move, bolting up to fourth place with a 10-6 record and 7,795 total. Defending champion Jakob Butturff rounds out the top five with a 7,747 total and 8-8 record.

The final round of match play gets underway at 6 p.m. Eastern today live on FloBowling and nine players sit within 150 pins of fifth place with eight games to go, including Tom Daugherty and Palermaa, who are just six and eight pins back, respectively.

For the past two weeks, Belmonte has earned the top seed for the stepladder finals. Should he earn the top seed again this week, he would tie the PBA Tour record for consecutive weeks as the top seed. That record (three) is shared by Earl Anthony, Johnny Petraglia, Williams, and, most recently, Butturff.

The players are facing dual patterns this week throughout the event with the left lane conditioned with the 45-foot Dick Weber pattern and the right lane conditioned with the 38-foot Mike Aulby pattern.

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