Hustlers feted in SBA banquet

Krystal SaipanCell Hustlers went home with the most hardware during the 2008 Winter/Spring Budweiser SBA Open 8-Ball League awards banquet held last Sunday at Charley’s Cabaret of Pacific Islands Club.

Hustlers Jerry Soriano, Senen Pangilinan, Rowell Mariano, Joey Lucido, Erwin Gomez, John Ricafort, and Ryan Sanciangco each received their individual trophies, while main sponsor SaipanCell Communications, represented by James Lee, was handed the championship trophy.

Aside from the championship of the 2008 Winter/Spring Budweiser SBA Open 8-Ball League, which was its third straight, the Hustlers also won the SBA Budweiser Cup in back-to-back seasons.

To top it all off, Hustlers newcomer Gomez was named MVP after leading the league with 14 victories.

Soriano, who served as Hustlers captain, said he would like to thank SaipanCell Communications for once again supporting the team this season despite the challenging economic times. He also extended his gratitude to Serge Tibudan, owner of Hustlers’ home bar, Krystal Perfect Spot.

Asked what makes the team so successful the past three seasons, Soriano said the players always make it a point to come on time every game. Aside from that, he said team chemistry is great because all of them are friends.

Soriano said Hustlers would remain intact next season to defend its championship for a fourth time, despite a clamor for them to disband because Hustlers is made up of the island’s top cue artists.

For the record, Hustlers won 78.1 percent of their matches last season after compiling an 82-23 win-loss mark in 105 total games.

A far second was Jonny’s Destroyers after it went 71-34 for a winning percentage of 67.6. Third place went to Porky’s Extremists and Wild Wild West with both teams finishing with identical 69-36 records.

Porky’s Wild Hogs and Coral Reef Shark Attack completed the Top 6 with their 63-43 marks.

USSP Fotten Palau (60-45), Len’s 5 Bad Boyz (55-50), Mr. Wonderful Shooters (51-54), Godfathers Magas (48-57), Perfect Spotter (47-58), USSP Wat-Ever (45-60), Wild Bill’s Snipers (40-65), Coral Reef Barracuda (29-76), Len’s 5 Amigos (29-76), and VFW Warriors (19-86) make up the rest of teams in the 2008 winter/spring season of the Budweiser SBA Open 8-Ball League.

In the Budweiser Cup, Hustlers capped their season with a 4-2 win over upset-conscous Godfather’s Magas.

The sportsmanship award, meanwhile, was handed to VFW Warriors with Wild Bill’s Nong Detdon taking home the sponsor’s plaque.