Anthony Crushes Rule in Partido Headliner Event
Anthony Crushes Rule in Partido Headliner Event
NJAA’s matchmaker Anthony put together a first of its kind paritdo event at the St. Pete Cancha last Saturday 12/09 and came out a clear-cut winner in the headliner match.
Games were to be played to either 10 points or 7 and were to feature one on one partido’s in the best of 3.
Anthony, the current USA Masters Champion of Jai-Alai, was able to sweep another top player on the Tampa Bay roster, Rule, by the identical scores of 10-4.
Anthony’s Draft Kings odds to win were 2-1.
There were several other matches on the undercard.
Seminole King beat Ricky Hernandez 7-6 and 7-4 in which some billed as the only upset on the day. The Pelota Press disagrees because Ricky has only played 2-3 times in the past 2 ½ years and was going to be rusty. Seminole King is no chopped liver himself and has played steady about 3 times a week for the past 13 years or so. Ricky, the former Tampa pro, has consistently been ranked as a top 3 player (if not number 1) for the past 13 years himself on the Sunshine City court.
The second partido of the day included Magic Mike vs. Alex. Those scores were identical to Anthony vs. Rule, with Alex winning the two games 10-4. Magic Mike, the computer consultant, and web poster for the Pelota Press has only been able to play one day a week, vs the 6 times a week he had played for the previous 15 years, sometimes racking in over 1,500 games a year, Mike is lucky to get in 4 games a week now with Saturday mornings the only time he can sneak away from his new larger computer store location and working it solo 7 days a week. Mike did not have a good day and missed many easy catches. Alex is a crafty front courter who can beat you many ways and was a 6-5 favorite.
The 3rd match was me vs Chip. With 100 clams on the line, this was the clear cut hardest fought match of the day. I won the first game 10-8 and had come back in game 2 to tie Chip at 9 a piece before hitting the top metal strip attempting a bomb throw to go over Chips head. The players agreed to a draw as they were exhausted after the 10-8 and 10-9 games. The odds were even money on this match, although I was adamant Chip would win. There is a chance game 3 will be played at a date TBA. With Goiko heading to Dania this weekend, it may be at a much later date with the holidays rolling in too. Surprising Chip said no kill shots allowed, and I quickly agreed. With dough on the line, Chip can turn it up a notch and is no slouch out there with plenty of kill shots and a good rebote. Plus, he’s got some good genes in him, as he is the brother of “ANT-nee”.
The event will likely do it all again this spring. Stay tuned.
