Sambajon Survives Two-Set Scare to Earn Joss Tour WinBy Bill Rosenberger  Santos Sambajon Jr. was looking for a win to jumpstart his season, as victories have been hard to come by in 2005. on April 9-10 at Snooker's Café and Billiards in Providence, RI, he got the "W" he needed, taking first place on the Joss Tour.
Sambajon wasn't alone in the 58-player field, as Mike Davis, Joey Korsiak, Frank Hernandez, and a plethora of other top Northeast players joined him in the hunt for the win. But early on, it was clear that he had the hot stroke. By Sunday morning, the field had dwindled down, with many of the aforementioned players still in contention. However, there was also Joe Dupuis, a local player who shocked the field. Dupuis hit his first snag early on Sunday when Davis sent him to the one-loss side, but he came back strong, finally ousting Eddie Vazquez to reach the semifinals. In the winners' bracket, Davis and Sambajon kept moving on, and eventually, they met in the hot seat match. Sambajon had the lead right from the start, and he never relinquished hit, winning 9-6. Davis and Dupuis met again, this time in the semifinals, and this time it was much closer. Up until the twelfth rack, it was either's man's match to win, as Davis only held a 6-5 lead, but Dupuis wasn't able to keep up with the UPA pro, and Davis took the match 9-6 to earn a rematch with Sambajon in the finals. The double-elimination final was thrilling from the start, as Davis ran out to a 6-2 lead in the first set. Sambajon managed to tally a few more wins, but Davis closed it out at 9-5. The second set was almost a complete reversal of the first. The closest Davis got was down 2-1, as Sambajon built up his wave and rode it all the way to a 9-5 victory. The Joss Tour finale, which was postponed last month, has been rescheduled for August 18-21. The $25,000-added event will be played at Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. Interested players can contact Zuglan directly at 518-356-7163 or by email at mzjosstour@aol.com. Results: 1st Santos Sambajon Jr. $1,750 2nd Mike Davis $1,250 3rd Joe Dupuis $940 4th Eddie Vazquez $700 5th Mike Zuglan, Dave Fernandez $500 7th Frank Hernandez, Joe Korsiak $350 9th Ray McNamara, Bob Madenjian, Jay Stevens, Tony Ruberto $225 13th Ray Reyes, Steve Tavernier, Alvin Thomas, Vu Nguyen $100 Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour.
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