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Jerry Schneider | PBA Media Relations

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PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke Helps Host Chris Paul Win His Fourth

State Farm^® CP3 PBA Celebrity Invitational Doubles Title

Houston Rockets star wins second consecutive title in multi-event extravaganza

benefitting Paul’s CP3 Family Foundation

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (Feb. 4, 2018) — With the help of PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke, Houston Rockets All-Star guard Chris Paul won his second consecutive and fourth overall doubles title in the State Farm^® CP3 PBA Celebrity Invitational presented by GoBowling! in a special televised Sunday on ESPN from Bowlero The Woodlands in the suburban Houston.

In the featured event of the ninth annual invitational event involving PBA stars and celebrity bowlers benefitting Paul’s CP3 Family Foundation, Paul teamed with Duke foran error-free, 10 strike performance in the alternate-frame doubles format championship match to beat eight-time PBA Tour titlist Bill O’Neill and Boston Red Sox All-Star outfielder Mookie Betts, 259-226, in the title match.

Paul and Duke combined for the first six strikes in the match which ultimately proved too much for the O’Neill/Betts team to overcome. In the ninth frame, Paul sewed up the win by picking up the challenging 4-5 split in front of an enthusiastic sold out crowd at Bowlero The Woodlands.

“I’ve been blessed to have some great partners over the years and Norm certainly showed why he’s a Hall of Famer,” said Paul, who won last year’s event with PBA Hall of Famer Chris Barnes. “It was up to me to stay there with him and keep the momentum going. Bowling’s like every other sport where, when you get that momentum early, you want to keep it. If you do, good things are going to happen.”

Paul also won doubles titles back-to-back in 2010 and 2011 with four-time PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte. For Duke, it was his first CP3 Celebrity Invitational win.

“Going into the finals I felt like we were the underdogs,” said Duke. “Mookie is a talented player and Bill is one of the best in the land right now so we knew we were goingto have our work cut out for us.

“We got through the semifinal match in good shape but right before practice for the title match Chris was kind of lost and asked me ‘What should I do?’ Chris is a guy wholikes to play the inside part of the lane and hook the ball, but I suggested he try playing outside where I was playing and, sure enough, he made it work. We just started striking and we were on our way.

“I don’t want to understate how big that 4-5 split conversion was,” Duke added. “At that point the match still could have gone either way if he had missed it, but that was a great shot.”

In the five-frame semifinal matches, the Duke/Paul team beat 2016 PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett and Paul’s Rockets teammate, James Harden, 109-90, and the Betts/O’Neill team beat the 2016 winners, newly-elected Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens and PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber, 130-73, to advance to the final match.

Sunday’s telecast also featured a one-game Baker format team match with two-time PBA Tour winner DJ Archer of Houston, Paul, Harden, fellow Texan Dino Castillo and Rockets forward Trevor Ariza making up the Houston Strong team against 12-time Tour winner Sean Rash, Betts, Owens and 2017 Teen Masters representatives Hannah Diem of Seminole, Fla., and Logan Harvey of Titusville, Fla., making up the Bowlero All-Stars team. TheBowlero All-Stars overcame an open in the second frame to soundly defeat a struggling Houston Strong team, 215-158.

In the third event of the telecast all of the participating celebrities, including actor/comedian Oscar Nunez and Rockets guard Bobby Brown, took part in the Go Bowling!Celebrity Super Clash sudden-death shoot out where the low score in each frame was eliminated. It came down to a dual against Owens and Ariza in the eighth frame with Owens striking to win against Ariza’s eight count.

The Chris Paul Family Foundation strives to positively impact individuals and families by providing resources that enrich and strengthen healthy development of strong communities.

PBA’s February schedule of live ESPN telecasts continues with three consecutive live Go Bowling! PBA Tour finals on Sundays at 1 p.m. ET, beginning with the PBA Tournamentof Champions on Feb. 11; the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic, Feb. 18, and the Barbasol PBA Players Championship, Feb. 25.

State Farm^® CP3 PBA Celebrity Invitational presented by Go Bowling!

Bowlero The Woodlands, The Woodlands, Texas

Results from Sunday’s ESPN telecast

Alternate Frame Doubles Format

Semi-final (five frames)

Match One – Norm Duke/Chris Paul def. EJ Tackett/James Harden, 109-90.

Match Two – Bill O’Neill/Mookie Betts def. Pete Weber/Terrell Owens – 130-73.

Championship (10 frames)

Duke/Paul def. O’Neill/Betts, 259-226.

CP3 PBA Celebrity Invitational Winners:

2018 – Norm Duke/Chris Paul

2017 – Chris Barnes/Chris Paul

2016 – Pete Weber/Terrell Owens

2015 – Ronnie Russell/French Montana

2013 – Chris Barnes/Chris Hardwick

2012 – Pete Weber/Jerry Ferrara/Blake Griffin

2011 – Jason Belmonte/Chris Paul

2010 – Jason Belmonte/Chris Paul

2009 – Jason Couch/LeBron James

About The Chris Paul Family Foundation

The Chris Paul Family Foundation strives to positively impact individuals and families by leveling the playing field in education, sports and life. The foundation provides resources that enrich and strengthen the healthy development of strong communities. Recognized as a leader in the area of philanthropy, The Chris Paul Family Foundation will continue to use its platform to impact communities nationally and globally. For more information about the Chris Paul Family Foundation, visithttps://chrispaul3.com/foundation/.

About State Farm^®:
The mission of State Farm is to help people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams. State Farm and its affiliates are the largest providers of auto and home insurance in the United States. Its nearly 19,000 agents and nearly 70,000 employees serve more than 84 million policies and accounts – more than 81 million auto, fire, life, health and commercial policies, and more than 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 33 on the 2017 Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com.

About GoBowling.com
GoBowling.com is the destination for bowling fans and enthusiasts seeking news and information about one of America’s favorite pastimes and the nation’s number one participatory sport. With more than 67 million people taking to the lanes every year, GoBowling.com is a one-stop location where people of all ages can go to satisfy their love of bowling. Consumers turn to GoBowling.comevery day to find bowling fun – discovering new bowling centers, tips and tricks to use on the lanes, event news and great deals at more than 1,700+ family-friendly bowling centers across the country.

About Bowlmor AMF

Bowlmor AMF is the largest owner and operator of bowling centers in the world, with over 300 locations, including eight locations in Mexico and two in Canada, specializing in corporate and special events, as well as league and retail bowling. The company was created in 2013 following the merger of Bowlmor Lanes, an upscale bowling and entertainment company, and AMF Bowling Worldwide and continued its growth with the acquisition of Brunswick Corporation’s bowling center business in 2014. The company’s portfolio of bowling center brands includes Bowlero, Bowlmor Lanes, AMF Bowling Co., Brunswick Zone, and Brunswick Zone XL. For more information, please visit bowlmor.com, amf.com,bowlero.com, and bowlbrunswick.com.

About the PBA

In 2018 the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) celebrates its 60th anniversary. The PBA is an organization of more than 3,000 of the best bowlers from 27 countries who compete in Go Bowling! PBA Tour, PBA International Tour, PBA Regional Tour, PBA Women’s Regional and PBA50 Tour events. The 2018 season also marks the 59th consecutive year of nationally-televised competition, reaching bowling fans around the world who follow PBA activities through the PBA Network which includes Xtra Frame, the PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, ESPN and CBS Sports Network, and the PBA on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. PBA sponsors include Barbasol, Brunswick, Ebonite International, GEICO, GoBowling.com, HotelPlanner.com, MOTIV, 900 Global, PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. For more information, log on to www.pba.com.

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