Bowls: Triple dream survives - by one point

Defending champion Sid Giddy, with his Mt Maunganui side of Maurice Hickey, Kevin Maxfield and Lance Tasker, moved a step closer to history at the national fours competition in Dunedin yesterday.

A tight 18-17 win over Alistair Keith of Hampstead kept alive Giddy's hopes of winning a third successive fours title at the Tower-sponsored tournament.

Keith almost upset the Giddy four when he came within a whisker of grabbing a five to force an extra end. But Giddy's hopes for the triple will face a stern test in the last eight, where he will meet a star-studded composite side of Aramoho skip Sean Johnson, Richard Girvan and Northern pair Ian Meyer and Philip Skoglund jun, who yesterday were 24-16 winners over Kerry Becks of Kaiapoi WMC.

Rowan Brassey needed an extra end to dislodge Keith Richardson of Allenton, Christchurch 19-18 and move through to the quarter-finals. The Auckland combination of Brassey, Ross Haresnape and young internationals Jamie Hill and Kerry Chapman will play Burnside's Noel Millar, who eased past Nigel Wright of Leith 19-16.

In the tightest match of the day, Alvin Gardiner of Halswell scored a two on the last end to sneak past Gary Lawson 14-13 in an all-Canterbury clash.

Gardiner will play Mike Fitzgerald of Caledonian, after Fitzgerald beat national selector Bruce Malcolm of Port Chalmers 23-21.

The final eight are completed by another strong composite South Island side, Mike Kernaghan, Steve Beel, Sean O'Neill and Greg Smith. They beat Brian Barker of Christchurch 23-14 and will meet Ian Brown's Northend, Invercargill club side, who pipped Brian Ware of St Albans 22-21.