Lions remain king
BPL05 was another thrilling instalment of bowls action and defending champs BCIB Sydney Lions were able to retain their title against a tough field. (Pictured left: Back-to-back champions of the Bowls Premier League Ben Twist, Aron Sherriff and Karen Murphy with the BCIB Sydney Lions’ coach Gary Willis.)
Last night’s thrilling final of BPL05 between defending champs BCIB Sydney Lions and NZ Blackjacks provided plenty of entertainment for punters, as the Lions showed the world why they are the big cats on the block after their straight two-set win over the locals.
The Lions’ winning combination of International superstar Karen Murphy, heavyweight Aron Sherriff and hotshot Ben Twist had a steady hand on the competition from the end of day one and continued their lead till the 13th round before the Helensvale Hawks took the lead.
Despite the Hawks pushing Sydney into second place, the Lions had guaranteed their place in the semi-finals against Helensvale who put Sydney on the back foot winning the first set with a narrow 6-5 victory, the Lions came back with a win in set 2 and the tie-breaker.
The Hawks had a chance to redeem themselves in the preliminary finals but couldn’t hold back a talented Kiwi side, who hit hard against the experienced Gold Coast mob with a 7-1 victory in the first set and a 9-2 in the second sending the blackjacks into the final.
The Lions did not let the Blackjacks get away with their $25,000 payday and handed the Blackjacks a 3-2 defeat and a 6-2 defeat in the second round to make sure the title stays within Australia.
To see the full ladder and results from each round of play visit the Bowls Premier League website available here:
http://australianpremierleague.com.au/
