USBA Semi-Final Results

A

Andy J.

Registered
The first round of the semis is over. In Group A, Mazin Shooni struggled early but came back strong to defeat his old friend and rival, Gary Elias, 30 to 25. Joe DeAmato fell to Thanh Vu 30 to 9. Vu was impressive, posting a 1.429 average. Hugo Patino sat out the first round.

Sonny Cho, the first seed in Group B, defeated Gary Cohen 30 to 16 in 31 innings. Pedro Piedrabuena had a strong outing, beating Peter Banyai in 23 innings for a 1.875 average. Banyai was impressive in defeat, notching 23 points for a 1.438 average. Lupe Cruz was idle.

The highlight of the first round occurred in Group C, where Miguel Torres plastered Tom Rossman 30 to 2 in 16 innings. Rossman was overwhelmed by the onslaught and struggled with bad leaves and missed opportunities. Jae Cho turned in a strong performance with a 30 to 12 win over Victor Cruz. Jim Hendrickson had the bye.

The last group saw Michael Kang trounce the Egyptian Fox, Khalil Diab, 30 to 14 in 25 innings. In the other match, Frank Torres fell to Dung Nguyen 30 to 21. Both players struggled, playing under .500. The last member of the group, Fred Lamers,watched the action along with the spectators.

All five rounds of the semis will be played today. Games are played to 30 points. The next round is underway.

More later….
 
Error corrected

I just spoke to andy J. Pedro against Peter the game was 16 ings. not 23.

Bill smith "Mr3Cushion"
 
News flash: Second Round Recap

Group A: Mazin Shooni continued his winning ways, topping Joe DeAmato 30 to 22 in 25 innings. Gary Elias made only 11 in his loss to Hugo Patino in 22 innings. Patino averaged 1.364. Thanh Vu, who is emerging as a dark horse candidate, sat out the second round.

Group B: Sonny Cho won his second of the day, defeating Lupe Cruz 30 to 15 in 29 innings. Pedro Piedrabuena also secured his second victory by doubling up on Gary Cohen, 30 to 15. Peter Banyai watched from the sidelines.

Group C: Miguel Torres cooled off a little from his opening round match but still managed a 1.111 average when he bested Jim Hendrickson 30 to 15. Jae Cho topped Tom Rossman 30 to 15 in 30 innings. Victor Cuzzi had the bye.

Group D: Frank Torres sat out the second round. Michael Kang continued his winning ways, but his average dropped as he defeated Fred Lamars 30 to 18 in 37 innings. Dung Nguyen could not follow up his opening round victorious ways. He dropped a close match to the Fox, Khalil Diab, 30 to 28. Both players stuck on 28 for several innings as they traded safeties but Diab broke it open with a nice bank, then closed it out with a nice short angle shot. The Fox has become a crowd favorite, and he received a robust round of applause when his cue ball clicked the second object ball for the final count.

Averages are down slightly as the competitors are playing conservatively.

PS Thanks to Bill Smith for helping me correct my last post. I'm staying busy here helping Charlie Brown run the tournament. I'll do my best to keep up the posts on the results.
 
The finals begin in less than 3 hours. Khalil Diab (the Fox) has emerged as the crowd favorite but he has a tough road ahead. He faces Hugo Patino in the first round. Other first round match ups include Michael Kang and Pedro Piedrabuena. Kang has played well throughout the tournament, and Piedrabuena appears to have rounded into form in the last few games. Playing perhaps the strongest billiards of any player in the tournament is Sonny Cho, who tangles with the other Cho, Jae, in the opening round. The last pairing is Mazin Shooni and Miguel Torres. When last I heard, live streaming was set to happen (check separate post on that topic), but things change quickly at the Tropicana so I have to leave now to check. Try to get back after the first round.
 
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