The two runaway leaders in the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association Premier League Men’s Division One both won their penultimate game 6-2 last weekend Oct 19. This sets up an exciting showdown with each other in the final game of the season this weekend.
The defending champion Kowloon Cricket Club, who had just suffered a surprise defeat to the rock-bottom Island Lawn Bowls Club the week before, travelled to third-placed Craigengower Cricket Club. The team stayed focussed this time with Noel Kennedy and Danny Ho skipping their rinks to comfortable victories, while covering the loss by team-mate Chadwick Chen.
Meanwhile, second-placed Kowloon Bowling Green Club hosted relegation-threatened Indian Recreation Club at home. Two of the KBGC rinks, skipped by Terence Lee and Heron Lau, won by a big margin, while APS Grewal earned two hard-fought points for IRC.
Entering the final round of the season, KCC now leads KBGC by one single point and also has home green advantage in the last game. The tiny point difference between the two teams means that it will be a “winner takes all” scenario.
As Kennedy put it last week: “Now it goes down to the last game between the top two teams and that’s the way it should be. May the best team win.
“On the day, whoever plays better wins the game and wins the league.
“It should be a good game.”
At the bottom, while ILBC has confirmed that their brief appearance in the top flight will be finished, three other teams are still fighting for their survival. As there are only four points separating Hong Kong Football Club (59), IRC (58) and Filipino Club (55)—with all four playing away from home—it will be really interesting to see who has the last laugh on Saturday evening and which two hangs onto their spot in Division One.
In Division Two, Taipo Lawn Bowls Club will return to the top division after dropping for one season. The other promotion spot will go to either Tuen Mun Sports Association or Hong Kong Youth Team, who have never been in the top flight before.
Of the eight men’s divisions, only three divisions have confirmed their champions, including Police team (Division Five), Club de Recreio (Division Six) and the Association of HK Yunnan Fellow Provincials (Division Seven).
All games will start at 3:00pm this Saturday Oct 26.
To make way for the men’s final matches, all women’s final games have been scheduled for a week later on Nov 2.
Claudius Lam is an Officer with the Hong Kong Lawn Bowls Association.
