Rastock’s “Rebels” Win Inaugural Battle Court Event at Puryear Park
Rastock’s “Rebels” Win Inaugural Battle Court Event at Puryear Park
August 31, 2026: St. Petersburg, Fla: George Steinbrenner once said there’s only one thing more important that winning, and that’s breathing. There’s one word in Rastock’s vocabulary that doesn’t’ exist, and that is losing. On a long, hot – and I mean VERY HOT day, he proved it again along with his co- MVP award players Eric Auman and Seminole King with a solid victory Saturday morning/ afternoon. I also could have added evening to that – and yes this was a long day. And I mean VERY LONG day to boot. Making it worse, the heat index on the 98% cloud-free day reached 109 degrees, making conditions for the crowd of 48 miserable.
The last two tournaments held on America’s first public court couldn’t have possibly asked for more than the two contrasting weather conditions we have experienced. Scott King’s event in early February was played under freezing conditions that even saw snow flurries in the neighborhood in the early morning of the second day of the event. This past Saturday was well above “heat advisory conditions” where you shouldn’t be out there doing anything – much less playing jai-alai.
Borrowing the format from Magic City Jai-alai, Rastock came up with the idea of hosting a similar event at his “newfound” home in St. Pete. Four of our top frontcourt players were chosen as Team Captains to pick 5 additional players to put the together a 6-player team. A draft was held earlier in the month at Glory Days Grill – who was sponsoring the event. A total of 24 players would compete in a one-day event that was held August 29th.
First Round Semi
Barracudas vs Rollers
Seed Team Scores Result
1 Brodie/Scott 3 7 6
Rule/Matt 7 6 7 Rollers Win 1-0
4 Ty/Thomas 7 3 7 Barracudas Win 1-1
Mike/Cachin 5 7 2
3 Brodie/Paul K 6 5 x
Daniel/Matt 7 7 x Rollers Win 2-1
6 Armndo/Thomas 4 6 x
Cachin/Leo 7 7 x Rollers Win 3-1
2 Ty/Scott 4 6 x
Daniel/Rule 7 7 x Rollers Win 4-1
5 Armndo/Paul K x x x
Mike/Leo x x x
Rollers win trip to the finals 4-1
Second Round Semi
Rebels vs Aces
4 Butler/Fred 7 7 x Rebels Win 1-0
Alex/Belota 2 4 x
3 Seminole/Garby 7 7 x Rebels Win 2-0
Armondo/RG3 0 4 x
1 Rastock/Garby 4 7 7 Rebels Win 3-0
Anthony/Belota 7 5 4
5 Eric/Seminole 5 7 7 Rebels Win 4-0
Alex/Chip 7 5 4
2 Rastock/Butler x x x
Armenta/Anthony x x x
6 Eric A/Fred x x x
RG3/Chip x x x
Rebels win trip to the finals – 4-0
Finals
Rebels vs Rollers
4 Butler/Fred 4 6 x
Mike/Cachin 7 7 x Rollers Win 1-0
1 Rastock/Garby 7 5 7 Rebels Win 1-1
Rule/Matt 2 7 1
5 Eric A/Seminole 7 7 x Rebels Win 2-1
Mike/Leo 2 4 x
2 Rastock/Butler 7 7 x Rebels Win 3-1
Daniel/Rule 0 3 x
6 Eric A/Fred 7 7 x Rebels Win 4-1
Cachin/Leo 2 6 x
3 Seminole/Garby x x x
Daniel/Matt x x x
Rebels win the Battle Court Finals 4-1
What could be done the next time we host an event list this?
Overall, the event was a lot of fun. You cannot control the weather. And taxpayers are not going to spend a dime on a roof for our cancha like the $500 Million that will be asked of the public to put a cover over the Tampa Bay Bucs Raymond James Stadium so snots like me sitting in our club seats get shade and the players get better workout conditions. Perhaps hold the event not during the summer – which runs June 21st to September 20th. Its hot and always a chance of rain showers. The other 9 months are fine. The Scott King weather we experienced was a once in a 15-year event for coldness. Saturday’s 109 degree feel like was about as hot as it can get here. About as bad as Vegas in the summer.
The event was too long. This one could have easily gone into the evening hours. Perhaps spread it out over two days – a long weekend (Saturday and Sunday) or over two weekends with the first two rounds one day and the final round another day the following weekend. There was some grumbling from players that only got to play once as their later games were not needed because their team had already lost 4 rounds and the games were not needed. Those are the X’s you see listed in the scores above. Initially those games were to be played but that was ruled out eventually due to timing and the fact that the team that had already won would have conserved their energy for the finals and not tried hard. The event lasted 5 hours and 50 minutes but could have gone much longer if all the X’s listed above had been an actual game.
I also felt players should at least wear the same designated colored shirt of their team in all the games to make it less confusing. But Matt in Connecticut has tried to make players wear white and pants only on multiple occasions to no avail. It was like security guards trying to stop spectators from taking videos on bands they are watching in concert. They finally gave up on that practice a few years ago. I always wondered, what is someone going to do with that video on his phone – sell it? Don’t bands want people promoting you and putting you up on YouTube?
Also, a banner of Glory Days hanging in the rafters would have been nice as they were the official sponsor. Maybe next time. Also broadcasting live on YOUTUBE @TampaJaiAlai.
Odds and Ends
Best catch of the day? Had to be “Sea Cow” Leo deep in the backcourt with an amazing catch that he almost lost his head on…..It was cool watching brothers Mark Butler and Daniel compete in the same game against each other. Both played great…..I was also impressed with the play of Thomas, Eric A, Fred and especially Seminole King…….Spotted in the crowd – former Tampa Jai-alai starts Corky and Art……The start time of the event was 10:28am and ending was 4:18pm…..Unfortunately we did not get a group photo of every player, so the group shot you see is missing several that left after getting eliminated. We did get a group photo of the winning team as noted on the home page……The winning team’s players each win a certificate from the sponsors – Glory Days – of free chicken wings….Several spectators donated money for the funds always needed to keep the cancha up in good playing condition….The front wall played and looked well, as well as the red markings around the perimeter of the side wall……
