Dinko Busanich and Anthony Cancilla
A funny thing happened to Dinko Busanich on his way to the winners’ circle in this past weekend’s (June 24-25) stop on the Garden State Pool Tour. But first, a little background. He embarked on his cash-earning career at the tables (as far as we know) and at the same time, chalked up what still stands as his best (recorded) earnings year during the first term of the Obama presidency in 2010. He cashed in five events on the Predator ProAm Tour that year and went on to make sporadic appearances on the Predator Pro Am, Mezz and Tri-State Tours, winning his first ‘major,’ on the Tri-State Tour, in 2014.
Last year, he cashed in four events on the Garden State Pool Tour, winning two of them. He came close to duplicating his first-year earnings efforts, but fell short by a few hundred dollars. He got off to a slow start this year, and until this past weekend, had only cashed in one event on the Garden State Pool Tour, finishing 9th at a stop in January. So, he comes into this $200-added, 650-and-under-Fargo tour stop that drew 29 entrants to Whiskey Hideaway on Staten Island. Having not cashed in an event in five months, he steps to the table and gets to a winners’ side semifinal with only one rack chalked up against him; an aggregate score of 19-1 against John (Jack) Egeln (0), Hunter Sullivan (0) and Eddie Perez (1). He draws Michelle Brotons, one of the top women competitors in the Tri-State area in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
In the meantime, Anthony Cancilla gets to his winners’ side semifinal against Jack Sullivan (no relation to Hunter) with an aggregate score of 19-4, an 82% to Busanich’s 95% game-winning percentage. Cancilla defeating Brian Andino (1), Latonia Taylor (3) and Henry Dragula (1).
Cancilla gives up a single rack to Jack Sullivan and advances to the hot seat match. Busanich gives up two to Brotons and joins him. And here’s the ‘funny’ thing. . . with Cancilla racing to 4 and Busanich racing to 6, Cancilla claims the hot seat 4-2, which, if nothing else, put a little pin-prick into the balloon of Busanich’s quest for this title, on this day. A little air went out of the balloon.
But not for long.
On the loss side, Brotons and Jack Sullivan came over to meet Hunter Sullivan and Franklin Ayala, respectively. Hunter Sullivan had defeated Joe Varvaro 6-2, Henry Dragula 6-3 and Paul Puma, double hill, to reach Brotons. Ayala had lost a winners’ side quarterfinal to Brotons and then defeated Peter Franco, double hill (4-5, Franco racing to 6) and Mikhail Kim 4-3 (Kim racing to 5) to draw Jack Sullivan.
Brotons downed Hunter Sullivan 4-3 (Sullivan racing to 6) as Jack Sullivan eliminated Ayala 4-2. Brotons took the quarterfinal over Jack Sullivan 6-3.
Busanich must have pumped some air back into his potential victory ‘balloon,’ because he brought it with him to the semifinals. He went back to the pattern that had gotten him into the hot seat match and in those semifinals, gave up only a single rack to Brotons, who was eliminated, but not before chalking up her first cash finish, on the Garden State Pool Tour.
Busanich, in spite of Cancilla taking an early 3-2 lead, took the opening set of his true double-elimination final against Cancilla 6-3 and then, put a punctuation mark on his endgame. In a reduced, race-to-3 second set, Busanich shut Cancilla out to claim his first cash payout on the tour since January and his first victory on the Garden State Pool Tour since last August.
Tour director Dave Fitzpatrick thanked the ownership and staff at Whiskey Hideaway for their hospitality and is looking forward to making this new venue a more permanent host location for the tour. Thanks were extended, as well, to tour sponsors Billiard Engineering, Kamui, JFlowers Cues & Cases, John Bender Cues, In The Box, Outsville, & Off the Rail Apparel. The next stop on the Garden State Pool Tour, scheduled for the weekend of July 8-9, will be an Open 10-Ball Tournament, hosted by Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
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