‘I can do it again’: 15-year-old Saskatoon bowler scores 300-point game

Bowling talent is on the rise in Saskatchewan. A recent game from a young bowler is highlighting a new generation taking to the sport. Hallee Mandryk reports.

Following one of his usual bowling practices at Fairhaven Bowl, Andrei Ibasco stuck around to continue working on his skills. While staying late to keep practicing wasn’t out of the ordinary for Ibasco and his fellow bowlers, what happened next was something rare.

The 15-year-old bowled a perfect 300 points, meaning that he got a strike every single time he threw the ball that game.

“After, like the second-last frame, I threw a bad shot. It still struck somehow, and that’s when it just got to me that it’s possible, I could throw a perfect game. And that’s when the pressure came to me, I still pulled through though, I got the last three and it was a great time,” Ibasco said.

That perfect game was far from just luck. Head coach of the Fairhaven youth bowling league, Dale Atamanchuk shared that Ibasco’s 300 points were the result of many hours of hard work.

“It’s great. It allows him to know that he can do it. So in competition, he’s not as nervous getting down to the end because he’s done it before... They’re not as nervous and they will be able to keep their emotions in check when they have to do it in tournaments,” Atamanchuk said.

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Atamanchuk saod it’s rewarding to see the next generation take to the sport within the province.

“It’s been ongoing here in Saskatchewan. It’s getting better and better in the last 20 years and pretty impressive here in Saskatoon. The sport has changed globally, due to different equipment and different methods of doing it. I’m a bit old school, but these kids nowadays, they got a lot of power and a lot of, a lot of energy, so it’s growing. There’s more enthusiasm overall,” Atamanchuk said.

It’s a sentiment that Doyle Bentson, manager of Fairhaven Bowl, echoed.

“Some of the things that we’ve been doing in the province and especially in Saskatoon, it’s just been mind- blowing... They’re coming in more enthusiastic. There’s more thought behind it. And the kids are coming in, and they’re excited to be here every day,” Bentson said.

For young bowlers like Ibasco, more interest in the sport means more opportunities to improve as well.

“I see a lot more people at the tournaments I go to. I learn a lot from them. And it’s making me a better bowler, the more tournaments I go to,” Ibasco said.

The province has seen a lot of bowling success in the last year.

Saskatoon’s Cooper Buniak bowled a perfect game at the youth national 10-pin championship in the summer.

This was followed by Josie Brooks from Regina taking home a national title in five-pin bowling last July, and 14-year-old Biggar bowler, Tanner Pollock also got some attention recently for scoring a perfect game.

It’s a group of bowling Saskatchewan bowling talent that Ibasco is excited to be a part of. The high school student shared that his recent accomplishment has provided him with some new confidence that he’s hoping to bring into competition.

“It’s definitely boosted my ego a little bit. I’m trying to bowl better games. If I don’t go good games I start to get a little bit down on myself,” Ibasco said.

Ibasco credited his coaches, parents and friends from the league for their help in his most recent accomplishment. These supports make up a community that the young bowler will be leaning on as he aims to repeat this achievement once again.

“I’m hoping to bowl a 300 game in league or a tournament. That’s my goal. Now I’ve bowled it once, I can do it again,” Ibasco said.