Pedro Piedrabuena hold his First Place Trophy and gets his name engraved for the third time on the Carl Strassberg "Traveling" Trophy

From around the country they came: 48 of the best 3-cushion players in the country. This year they were split up into six flights of eight. Play started at 10:00am each day. The equipment used was 9 Verhoeven tables with new Simonis cloth. In the preliminary rounds the players went to 30 points and in the finals the race was to 40 points. The two winners from each prelimimary flight advanced to the final 12 man round robin flight.

Preliminary Highlights:

In an early demonstration of his billiard skills, Carlos Francisco Palafox unleashed a beautifully executed 16 run against former United States Champion George Ashby in the third round of the finals as he continued to dominate his opponents. Palafox had yet to lose a game, posting a perfect 7-0 record in his division of the preliminaries, which included an impressive victory against the defending USBA champion, Mazin Shooni. Carlos is well known in Los Angeles as an up-and-coming possible national champion. At forty years old, his game should only improve.

Finals:

After 4 rounds of the finals, Mazin Shooni, the 2006 and defending USBA champion, continued undefeated. Pedro Piedrabuena, 2002 and 2004 USBA champion, continued undefeated as well. Hugo Patino, another past USBA champion (2003), after a 3rd round defeat at the hands of Salvador “Chava” Diaz came back with a victory over Jose Costa. Meanwhile, Miguel Torres, 2003 Nationals runner-up, playing out of Carom Café in Flushing NY, after losing to Palafox in round 3, wins against Felipe Razon from Chicago. Palafox falls from the ranks of the undefeated after suffering a loss at the hands of Young Gull Lee of New York, 40 to 38. Palafox started that game with 14 points in his first 2 innings and was winning 16-0. After 4 rounds Piedrabuena and Shooni remain perfect at 4-0.

The 5th round saw Piedrabuena and Shooni with victories to remain undefeated. Piedrabuena over Vicky Pineda of Los Angeles, while Shooni to the measure of former USBA champion George Ashby from Jacksonville, Illinois. Newcomer Jose Costa, 44, of Lawrence, Massachusetts playing in his first national championship captured his first win of the finals with a brilliant 40-38 victory over the always dangerous Carlos Palafox, sending Palafox to a 3-2 record in the finals. Both Patino and Torres found victories to send their records to 4-1.

The 6th round was a nail biter against Young Gull Lee and Mazin Shooni. Pedro already won his match making him 6 wins and no losses. Shooni had a hard time keeping up to Lee all through the match. At one time Mr. Lee snapped off a nine run giving him a 26 to 10 lead. Shooni fought back and won by 40 to 39, giving him 6 wins and no losses.

The 7-8th round continued to be exciting as Pedro was victorious over Jose Costa 40 to 14 in 26 innings. Pedro defeated Miguel Torres as well by a score of 40 to 28 giving him 8 wins and no losses. Even though Shooni suffered his first and disappointing loss to Torres by a slim three point margin in the 7th round, he came roaring back with a two-point victory in his match against Hugo Patino in the 8th round. Shooni now holds a 7 win and 1 loss record.

The 9th round and “standing room only” highlight match was Michael Kang against Pedro Piedrabuena as Michael had Pedro 33 to 25. Mazin Shooni was hoping that Michael would win giving Pedro his first loss. But that didn’t happen as Pedro came back with an arsenal of shots that gave him the victory 40 to 39. Mazin won his match against Palafox 40 to 33, while Torres had the win over Hugo with a score of 40 to 21, placing Torres with 7 wins and 2 losses.

The competition continued in the 10th and 11th rounds with determined players on all fronts trying to secure special victories to assure higher monetary positions of finish in the overall event rankings. Only two players remained in the hunt for 1st place – Pedro Piedrabuena and Mazin Shooni. These two determined veterans called on years of 3 cushion “conditioned” playing experience and game knowledge to try to gain a sizable lead, but neither could seem to pull away from the other. With Mazin needing 6 points and Pedro needing 7 points in the game, strategic calculations on the part of both players became evident as they approached the table for their respective final shots. When all was said and done, Pedro dug from deep within during his final turn at the table, scoring the critical 40th point to assure himself the USBA National Championship title and another engraving “notch” on the Carl Strassburg traveling trophy. This was the 3rd time since 2002 that he has earned this most prestigious title among his billiard playing piers. The “heart” of this special champion was evident among the standing room only crowd. Averaging over 1.400 during the finals and going undefeated for the entire event with 7 wins in the prelims and 11 wins in the final round robin of 12 players was no easy task, but 2007 proved to be Pedro’s finest hour at the game he loves and shares with all of us.

Pedro and Runner-Up Mazin Shooni (2006 Champion)

PDF Chart of the Finals

A special thanks to the planning committee of the 2007 USBA 3-Cushion National Championship: Bob Jewett, George Aronek, Bruce Warner and Pedro Piedrabuena. To all the sponsors: Simonis Cloth, Aramith, Schuler Cues, David Levine, Dennis Dieckman, Longoni, Huf Hofstedt, Competition Sports, Tiger Products and also to the host room, 8 Ball Billiards owner, Jose Cerda.

PRIZE FUND:

Total $ 20,000.00

Hi-Run (Prelims) $100 Miguel Torres & George Ashby (hi-runs of 13)

Hi-Run (Finals) $100 Carlos Palafox (16)

Best Game (Finals) $100 Hugo Patino (40pts/18 inns- 2.222 avg)

Special Event Attraction: During the final day of competition all fans and players were treated to 2 demonstrations of skill and artistic merit. Miguel Torres, artistic champion extraordinaire, performed amazing “artistic carom” specialties from his vast repertoire of shots, making the cue ball appear to defy the laws of physics as jaws dropped and the fans went wild in appreciation. Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman, the 2006 WPA World Artistic Pool Champion and a regular on ESPN, provided his unique entertainment – table trotter style on the pool table prior to the final rounds. Combining the skill and artistic beauty of each shot with his patented “quips of humor”, the fans watched as the cue ball and an assortment of props provided special memories for all in attendance.

Eight Ball Billiards Owner Jose Cerda with his daughter Dora and Tournament Director Bruce Warner

PEARLS FROM THE 2007 USBA NATIONALS
By Tom Resk, Chico, CA

Assigned to canvas this year's Nationals finalists by my billiard buddy and 3-cushion mentor, Bob Tracy, a 5 time Nationals qualifier, 1968 –1972, each finalist was observed to see whether they used a glove or not.  Each was asked what cue tip they liked.  Here are the results in the order of each finalist's finish:

1.     PEDRO PIEDRABUENA
a.     No glove
b.    Moori soft tip, 12 mm, but “ . . . may have worn down to 11.9 by now.”

2.     MAZIN SHOONI
a.     Uses a glove
b.    Sponsored by Tiger, he uses a Tiger 12.2mm layered tip made to his specification.

3.     HUGO PATIÑO
a.     Uses a glove
b.    Uses a “ . . . cheap 50 cent Triangle (Master)”, medium hard tip. 12mm.

4.     MIGUEL TORRES
a.     No glove
b.    Moori hard tip, 12 mm

5.     SALVADOR DIAZ
a.     No glove
b.    Moori hardest tip, 12 mm

6.     CARLOS PALAFOX
a.     Uses a glove
b.    Moori hard tip.  12 mm “ . . . because of his shaft.”

7.     MICHAEL KANG
a.     No glove
b.    Moori medium hard tip. 12 – 12.5 mm.  “ . . . but using a hard tip makes me miscue.”

8.     YOUNG GULL LEE
a.     No glove
b.    Moori medium hard tip.  Uses an 11 mm, but prefers a 12 mm

9.     GEORGE ASHBY
a.     Uses a glove
b.    “Uses whatever is around, 9 to 11.3 mm.”  Doesn't like layered tips.  Likes the Moori tip because he “ . . . can feel the hit.”

10. VIRGILIO “VICKY” PINEDA
a.     Uses a glove
b.    Moori medium hard tip.  12.5 – 13 mm.

11. JOSE COSTA
a.     Uses a glove
b.    Uses “ . . . whatever tip Mazin Shooni (his mentor) puts on” his shaft.  Thinks his tip is a Moori soft 12.5 mm tip.

12. FELIPE “PEPE” RAZON
a.     Uses a glove
b.    Lepro hard tip. 12 – 13 mm.    “. . . varies with the shaft.”
“Lepro has only one hardness.”  Doesn't like Moori tips.