Winner 'Respects All, Fears None' on NZ Open Greens

Friday, November 15, 2013

MEDIA RELEASE

Event: The Trusts New Zealand Open 2013
Dates: Thursday, November 7 – Friday, November 15, 2013
Venue: Henderson Bowls (Headquarters),
2/20 Alderman Drive
Henderson, Auckland

Men's Singles Winner 'Respects All, Fears None' on NZ Open Greens

Hillcrest bowler Tony Fabling lived up to his bowling motto of 'respect all bowlers, but fear no one you play' by being crowned on the Henderson Bowls greens in Auckland today after beating Neil 'Houdini' Fisher (Howick) 21-15 for the coveted men's singles title at The Trusts NZ Open 2013.

Wasting no time in taking the lead, Fabling picked up three in the opening end and then led throughout the 21 ends it took to make the podium.

Of course facing Fisher (2011 NZ Open men's singles champion) was no easy task, and the Waikato bowler had to keep a cool head as his opponent lived up to his reputation for escaping from tight situations on the rinks.

“Neil's a very good bowler and it was a good game,” a stoic Fabling said.

“It was a great tournament and the greens were running well.”

Fisher, who has seven Centre titles and 'heaps' of club titles to his name, bounced back briefly in the thirteenth end with some clever drives to close the gap from 6-14 to a more hopeful 11-14.

But Fabling sealed his fate on the nineteenth end by taking a four to sit on match point. His rival responded with a three in the second-to-last end, but Fabling set up a win-win situation for himself in the final end.

Almost as if he couldn't quite believe it, Fabling, who was holding shot, decided to play his last bowl to make sure that he could claim the honours. And in keeping with the preceding ends, Fabling sat his final bowl close enough to the jack to leave no question about the result of the match.

Results

The Trusts Men's Singles Final
Tony Fabling (Hillcrest) bt Neil Fisher (Howick) 21-15
Winner: Tony Fabling (Hillcrest)
ends

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