Coker Carries Away 14.1 Billiard Title
Southern California 14.1 Tournament / Rancho Cucamonga, CA
by Roger Tafoya
Presented by Breakball Promotions, the Southern California 14.1 Straight Pool Tournament brought out a strong field of 57 players to vie for the first-place prize. Stix Billiards in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, owned by Alex Laoingco, hosted the February 15-16 event, which saw contenders from as far away as Wisconsin, Washington, and Arizona compete.
Tournament director Michael Piyasombom was in charge of making sure everything ran smoothly, with Joe Harto officiating. Danny Kuykendall, owner of Danny K’s in Orange, CA, and himself a fine straight pool player, sponsored the added bonus for the player with the highest run, which was won by the event’s winner, Calvin Coker, who held a run of 91.
Before too long the tournament was down to the finals, in which Coker faced off against Jose “Amang” Parica of the Philippines. A single race to 125, the finals saw the two contestants go back and forth in points throughout. There were not a lot of high runs, but classic safeties and excellent strategies prevailed. With the score at 104-100 Coker, Parica reached the table. He went on a tear and reached 123 but overcut the ball into the rail. Coker stepped up to the table and never allowed Parica back, running 21 and out.
Results:
1st Calvin Coker
2nd Jose Parica
3rd Frank Almanza
4th Oscar Dominguez
5th Carl Wilson Jr.
Ernesto Dominguez
7th Aaron Aragon
Danny Petralba
9th John Plunkit
Max Eberle
Eric Harada
Angelo Yap