Motiv Ascent Bowling Ball - Pink/Purple Pearl

The solid ascent has a solid version of the MOTIVATOR-Z coverstock, while the Ascent Pearl has the same cover as the QZ2 Black/Blue Pearl. Tne factory finish says 2000 or 1000 depending on where you look for the solid. The Ascent Pearl comes out at 2000 grit polished. My personal gut suggests 1000 grit by hand for the solid as it very closely resembles the box finish. The core utilized is the Recon core from the previous Recon RX1 Solid Orange, and Silver Pearl balls. It looks like a golf tee and is rather tall. With that being said it is going to be a high RG core without question. The solid Ascent is best for speed dominant players or for those who prefer a smoother reaction on medium/lighter oil patterns. I could see this being a great piece for fresh short oil such as the Cheetah and Viper (depending on lane surface) as well as high friction Chameleon. The Pearl Ascent will be a great piece for slower speed players and those with a higher rev rate bowling on high fricion patterns/lane surface (i.e. Long Island) The Ascent Prl is best used when stronger pieces of equipment are burning up or hooking early. I could see this Pearl also working well when the fronts are blown up, yet the backends get tighter. It will clear the heads well and retain energy for a stronger, more "flip" backend motion. The Ascent Pearl retains a tremendous amount of energy because of the core/cover combo. The core doesn't rev up early and the polished pearl coverstock is so clean. I don't have a choice but to open up my angles with the pearl. If I don't the breakpoint can become erratic and I'll leave some designs. Just because the Recon has such weak dynamics (16# RG: 2.59, diff: 0.018) doesn't mean it won't hook. When used on the APPROPRIATE enviornment (s) it will really shine. -Darren Andretta, MOTIV Staff Member

While the MOTIV Ascent Pearl is priced as an “entry level” performance ball, in my experience it is an essential piece for me when it comes to a broken down house shot or short sport patterns. I drilled mine with an 85* x 5” x 45* layout, which is one of my favorites. I rolled the Ascent Pearl on the 34 foot WTBA “Stockholm” pattern during a practice session. This ball was lights out about 3 or 4 games in, when I needed to open up my angles after the oil carried down a bit. (The Ascent Solid was what I used for the first 3 games). I also used the Ascent Pearl recently in a PBA Regional bowled on the Cheetah pattern. I averaged over 230 during qualifying using this ball for the last 6 games. This ball is extremely clean through the fronts with just the right amount of back end to kick that 10 out. This ball also shines on a “second shift” house shot. Here is a video of me rolling the Ascent Pearl (and Solid) on a low volume 40 foot house shot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKuPXy1Z0gs Also, this ball looks real good going down the lane. I get more comments “Hey, what are you throwing??” than any other ball I’ve thrown. And the low price, well, that’s just a bonus! --Kevin Gallagher— PBA Member MOTIV Staff