Chris Paul, the all-star point guard of the Los Angeles Clippers, seems to be quite the cagey owner of the Los Angeles franchise of the inaugural Professional Bowlers Assn.’s PBA League.
He’s put together what appears to be a solid roster – one that certainly has the potential to contend for the championship in the eight-team league.
The team, by the way, goes by the name of the Los Angeles X.
The X’s franchise player is five-time PBA champion Jason Belmonte of Australia. Belmonte won his fifth championship in front of his home crowd at the 2012 Australian Masters in Sydney. He defeated Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., in a best-of-three final, winning 174-172, then losing 255-223, before prevailing, 256-243.
Other members of the X squad are Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Tex.; Andres Gomez of Columbia; Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J.; and Dave Wodka of Henderson, Nev. The supplemental pick is Ildemario Ruiz of Venezuela.
Bohn is an eye-popper. He was rated 10th on the list of the 50 greatest players in PBA history during the organization’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2009.
The 49-year-old Bohn, a left-hander, ranks sixth all-time with 33 PBA titles and has earned nearly $3 million in PBA events. Bohn won five titles in both 1999 and the 2001-02 seasons.
Bohn won his second major title this month by winning the PBA World Championship in Las Vegas. Entering the final match-play round, Bohn was seeded 24th (out of 24).
Bohn earned the title with a 254-227 victory in the championship match.
Who did he beat?
None other than his current L.A. X teammate Jason Belmonte, who happened to be the top qualifier.
Other teams in the league include the Dallas Strikers, Philadelphia Hitmen, Detroit Motown Muscle, Pittsburgh Jack Rabbits, Silver Lake Atom Splitters, New York City WTT KingPins and Brooklyn Styles.
ESPN will televise five weeks of the league competition beginning Jan. 27 and will broadcast the Elias Cup finals April 7.
