By Joe D’Amodio | damodio@siadvance.com
silive.com | Click here for the full story

Adam Abdelaziz made a statement on the final day of qualifying in the Staten Island Singles Classic Saturday at Rab’s Country Lanes as he moved to the top of the leaderboard with a huge performance.

Abdelaziz, who is Showplace Bowling Center house pro Vinny D’Ambrosio’s protege, uncorked an 817 scratch series with games of 237 and pair of 290s. That alone would have put him in the lead, but add his 12-pin handicap to his scratch series and he finished with an 829 gross set.

Abdelaziz, who is a Susan Wagner HS product who helped the Falcons win the city crown in 2012 and 2013, will lead a field of 24 qualifiers into Saturday’s finals at 2:30 p.m. at Rab’s.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TOP 24 QUALIFIERS

Last week’s co-leaders, Brandon Sach and Sean McAuliffe, dropped to second place at 802 each. Kelcey Fisher ended qualifying fourth with an 800 gross series, while Anthony Arias placed fifth with a 798.

Two-time defending champion Jeff Scire (795) wound up sixth, but should be tough to beat in the finals.