Bowls Elite Men’s State Pairs Final Results
Played Monday 29th December 2014 Blake Nairn and John Francisco became the first Bassendean Bowling Club pairing to win the Western Australian State Pairs since the 1971-72 season, when they defeated Charlie Slavich and Corey Bessant (Doubleview) today at the Osborne Park Bowling Club.
After an all the way win in the semi finals when they defeated Bassendean teammate Daniel Patterson and his partner David Opie (Cambridge), Nairn and Francisco went into the Bowls Elite Men’s State Pairs final full of confidence. Slavich and Bessant on the other hand had to fight all the way in a marathon semi final win against Scott Edmonds (Doubleview and Paul Butler (North Beach).
After Slavich took the early advantage with a 4-1 lead after 3 ends, Nairn reeled off 4 straight ends to open up an 8-4 advantage and a lead that he and Francisco would never relinquish. A single on the 8th end to Slavich closed the gap to 3 shots but was quickly answer by Nairn when he took singles on the next 2 ends. When Slavich again took a single on the 11th end, the pattern of the game continued with Nairn again winning consecutive ends and building a match winning lead of 18-6 after 16 ends of the 18 end final. With all hope looking lost and the crowd expecting a quiet finish to the game, Slavich and Bessant grabbed a big count of 6 shots to breathe life into the contest. Going into the final end of the championships Nairn and Francisco were made to refocus on the contest as the Doubleview pair piled on the pressure and went after another 6 shots to force an extra end. First Francisco drew what looked like the match winning shot only to see Slavich play a magic yard over bowl and turn his own bowl onto the jack to make 5 shots with 3 bowls to play in the end. With Nairn facing defeat that was highly unlikely only 2 ends ago, Nairn played weight on a good line and managed to move the jack enough to make it only 2 shots to Slavich. With his last bowl of the end and possibly the game, Slavich still had an opportunity to make the 6 shots required to force an extra end but had to go through a pack of bowls and move not one but two of Nairn’s bowls. With the crowd hushed and looking for a grandstand finish, Slavich was unable to find the hole through the pack and could not make an impact on the Bassendean bowls allowing Blake Nairn and John Francisco to take the championships with an 18-14 win.
Final Knockout Results
All Day 2 Knockout Results
All Sectional Results
Knockout Schedule of Play
Bowls Elite Men’s State Pairs draw
