Two in a Row for Aquino

By Bill Rosenberger

The Fury Florida Amateur 9-Ball Tour became so big in 2004 that they divided the tour in half.  Thus, the Fury Central Florida and Fury North Florida Amateur 9-Ball Tours were born.  And if you ask Julio Aquino, he doesn't mind o­ne bit.

Just a week after winning the first Central Florida event, Aquino dominated the field at Breakers Billiards in Palatka, FL, to take the January 23 opening event o­n the North Florida Tour.  Aquino bested a tough field of 26 players to go undefeated and extend his winning streak.

The hot seat match featured Aquino and Steve Howitt, two players who were dominating the field.  Howitt, however, had just finished a nail-biter against Jason Gard, squeezing out a 7-6 win.  For him, this match with Aquino was another down-to-the-wire contest, and he was again unable to win the decisive game. 

Howitt headed to the semifinals to face Gard for the second time.  This time, he controlled the match, advancing to the finals with a 5-3 win.

In the finals, Aquino and Howitt kept it close, as both players jockeyed for a lead.  Down 6-4, Aquino nailed the 9 o­n the break and took the following game to tie the match up.  And after Howitt regained the lead with a break-and-run, Aquino rallied and won the final three racks to nail down his tournament win 9-7.

Results:

1st Julio Aquino $415

2nd Steve Howitt $265

3rd Jason Gard $165

4th Justin Mason $95

5th Dave Ross, David Swineheart $50

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