Winners are grinners: Sean Ingham, Matt Baus and Aron Sherriff of Team Exodas after winning the event one final at the Ultimate Bowls Championship in Moama.
Photo by
Bransen Gibson
Team Exodas has claimed victory in the first event at the Ultimate Bowls Championship this week, defeating Moama Green in an exciting showdown.
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Aron Sherriff and Matt Baus of Exodas got the better of Moama Green’s Ryan Bester and Kevin Anderson 77-58 in the final on Monday night, earning the trophy and a cool $50,000 in prize money in the process.
It was an enthralling final at Moama Bowling Club, with Exodas and Moama Green going head-to-head after navigating the knockout stages to reach the finale.
Moama got off to a great start, holding an early lead in the encounter.
Anderson and Bester were up 26-19 after two ends and 45-36 after three, but Exodas came storming home.
A ripper fourth end saw Sherriff and Baus swing the game in their favour as they hit the front, taking a 57-45 lead.
The pair had a truckload of momentum heading into the fifth and final end, and finished off strong to clinch a 19-point win.
Jubilation: Aron Sherriff and Matt Baus celebrate after clinching the final against Moama Green on Monday night.
Photo by
Bransen Gibson
It was a well-earned victory for Exodas, which finished second on the section A ladder with eight wins, one draw and three defeats.
“We have been involved in a fair few finals series, so to get the monkey off the back is fantastic,” Sherriff said after the match.
“We are three great mates supported by a great team, so to finally get that victory together for our team is huge.
“Baussy (Matt Baus) was huge tonight, as was Nuggett (teammate Sean Ingham) throughout the event. It is a team event, and fortunately Baussy and I were able to perform near our best tonight and get the win for all three of us.”
Focused: Aron Sherriff gets ready to take a shot against Moama Green.
Photo by
Bransen Gibson
Moama Green’s Bester praised both Exodas and his teammates Anderson and Wayne Turley for their performances during the event.
“We had a great couple of days. We played really well as a team,” Bester said,
“Wayne and Kevin played brilliant. Well done to Exodas, they played great all throughout the round-robins and won the group. They are deserved winners, and we are looking forward to the next four days.”
Moama Green finished fourth on the ladder with seven wins and five losses and it really hit its stride come finals time.
It knocked off the Streaky Bay Sharks in the first final 64-63, winning by one point after a tie-breaking final bowl-off.
Moama Green then bested Deer Park 84-54 in the quarter-final to set up an all-Moama showdown in the semi-final against Moama Black.
Moama Black, made up of Alex Marshall, Cass Millerick and Ryan Burnett, had been in stellar form and finished on top of the section A ladder with a dominant 10 wins and just two defeats.
But it was its clubmate Green which earned bragging rights in the semi-final, with Anderson and Bester putting on a terrific display to claim an upset 65-31 win.
Runners-up: Moama Green's Wayne Turley, Kevin Anderson and Ryan Bester with their second-place medals after Monday’s final.
Photo by
Bransen Gibson
While Green came up short in the finale, the trio of Anderson, Bester and Turley did not walk away empty-handed, earning $25,000 in prize money.
The Point and the Deer Park Chargers finished first and second in section B, but they were knocked out by Exodas and Moama Green, respectively.
As well as earning a victor’s medal, Sherriff also won the ‘Golden Touch’ prize with Lee Schraner of the Whittlesea Eagles. The pair had 29 touchers — a bowl that touched the jack — across the group games, tied for the most among the more than 70 players.
Monday’s finale was the first of three finals at the week-long UBC event this week, with the finals of the other two-day events to be held on Wednesday, December 14, and Friday, December 16.
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