This was quite the striking moment and it happened twice!

Sometimes we can all learn a bowling lesson from the pros.

And this lesson has nothing to do with the mechanics of the game.

Let me explain:

During Sunday’s ESPN telecast of the Professional Bowlers Assn. League at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., Venezuela native Amleto Monacelli of the Dallas Strikers put on a memorable show that was overshadowed by the team competition.

During his team’s first-round match against the New York City WTT KingPins, the right-handed Monacelli hooked his first shot well past the pocket. His ball barely caught the pocket on the left side and he collected a Brooklyn strike with all the pins obligingly falling in awkward fashion.

Make no mistake about it, it was sloppy, but it was a strike nonetheless.

Monacelli took his gift strike with grace and class. There was no head-shaking about his shot gone array, just a quiet walk back to his seat before he let loose with a bashful smile.

Monacelli, one of five bowlers on the Strikers, went to the line five frames later. And darn if the same thing happened again. This time he missed the pocket not quite as badly as his first ball, with his shot landing squarely on the Brooklyn side. This time the pins fell easily for his second strike in two shots.

Monacelli flashed a huge smile, showing the world that he recognized that he was extremely lucky but was thankful for his good fortune. Monacelli also held up two fingers to make it perfectly clear – he did this Brooklyn thing twice – and he got away with it twice.

Pros have gotten so good that one rarely sees a Brooklyn strike from these players. They’re just too good to miss by that much.

But the 51-year-old Monacelli – the only foreign-born player in the PBA Hall of Fame – took his lucky strikes in stride. As big a name as he is, Monacelli showed that he’s still a little kid at heart.

No doubt, it’s this good-natured attitude that has helped him collect 19 career PBA titles and earn more than $2 million.

Unfortunately for the Strikers, even with Monacelli’s two strikes, they were eliminated by the KingPins, 223-191.

Perhaps the struggling Los Angeles X and Silver Lake (Calif.) Atom Splitters are due some of Monacelli’s good fortune to get them untracked. Sometimes it’s just one lucky shot – or two – to get a player or team rolling.