Sandie Paterino, Muaz "The Hurricant" Arshad and John Palmiery
Sandie Patarino's been at it for a couple of years now; showing up on the Tri-State Tour, doing her best to break through and win one. She got as close as second place back in November 2009, when she squared off in the finals against Scott Simonetti. On Saturday, May 22, in Edison, NJ, Patarino worked her way undefeated through a field of 24 entrants on hand for the $750-added, B-D handicapped tournament, hosted by Sandcastle Billiards, and emerged with her first win on the tour.
After getting by Nick Serino, Serrafin Serrano, and Joe Varvaro, Patarino moved among the winners' side final four to meet up with Allen Wong, whom she defeated 6-3 to get into the hot seat match versus John Palmiery. Palmiery had just sent George Osipovich west 6-4, and then, followed him over when Patarino gained the hot seat with a double hill 6-5 win.
On the one-loss side, Muaz “The Hurricane” Arshad was on a five-match march to the finals that had begun when, from among the winners' side final four, Palmiery had defeated him 8-4. Arshad's trip back began with two straight 7-2 victories over Ken Decuire and Daniel Dagodot, which set him up to face Wong. Osipovitch was met by Joe Varvaro, who'd defeated Dave Shlemperis 7-4 and Robert Kight 7-3 to reach him. Arshad and Varvaro advanced to the quarterfinals; Arshad with an 8-7 win over Wong, and Varvaro with a commanding 6-1 victory over Osipovitch.
Arshad earned the right to face Palmiery a second time with an 8-5 win in the quarterfinals and then handed Palmiery his second and tournament-ending defeat in the semifinals 9-5. With match records of 7-1 and 5-0, Arshad and Patarino moved into the finals. Patarino jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, before Arshad responded with two straight racks. For the duration of the match – nine games – the two traded racks back and forth. Patarino, though, had initiated the pattern and took the last of the games to finish it at 9-6.
George Osipovitch was the winner of the $400 break and run contest. Thanks went out to Sterling-Gaming, Viking Cues, Ozone Billiards, and Stealth Cues for sponsorship related to the event. The next scheduled stop on the Tri-State Tour, following a Memorial Day weekend break, will be on June 5, at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
