Story And Photo Courtesy Of Jon Verbil - TAT Southwest Director.
Justin Pluchino Conquers Tough Pattern at TAT Morongo Classic
Morongo Valley, CA. - - - In TAT’s first California event since 2019, Justin Pluchino of Reseda, California emerged with the victory and $5,190 in the TAT Morongo Classic held at Canyon Lanes at Morongo from May 31st to June 2nd. The 28-year-old righty from the Scratch Division qualified for the TAT Finals with a 687 series, the highest scratch set of any competitor in the tournament, and then surged to his 2nd highest game of the event (238) on the tough pattern to defeat the other three division champions in the TAT Grand Finals.
The 44-foot TAT custom pattern at Canyon Lanes with a 38-foot drop brush and 22.4ml of volume and a 1.7:1 ratio proved to be very difficult for most competitors to conquer. Cut scores varied widely from squad-to-squad and division-to-division, but the average cut score across all squads and divisions was 621, which is significantly lower than the typical TAT.
TAT Desert Southwest paid out over $30,600 in cash prizes in this event along with many squad prizes such as Storm high-performance bowling balls, Coolwick bowling jerseys, B3 Performance lane packages, Tenpin Toolkit subscriptions, and a paid entry into the next TAT Las Vegas national event. There were 121 competitors who rolled 185 main event entries along with 87 entries in the VIP event and 25 entries in the Friday mini-TAT sweeper.
This event again included a VIP side tournament as part of the entry fee with one VIP squad on Saturday morning and one on Sunday morning. VIP squads are always on a fresh oil condition, and the VIP tournament is a 2-game beat-the-board event where only the highest score (with handicap) counts and all divisions are combined. Bowlers use VIP squads as a low-risk way to test out the lane pattern on a fresh condition while still having a chance to win some money if they should toss a high game, while also getting a feel for how they want to play the lanes in the main event. Steve Basdakis of Beaumont, CA grabbed the victory and $500 for his 270 score (242+28), with Abel Barajas of Banning, CA taking second for $250 with a 267 (221+46). Low-to-cash in the VIP tournament was 220 and paid $30.
In the Friday night sweeper, 25 competitors got a head start on the pattern in a “mini-TAT” format that consisted of one qualifying squad followed immediately by finals rounds for the qualifiers. In the Finals, Pat Lombardo of Phoenix, AZ grinded out the victory from the 50+ Senior Handicap Division with a 206 (204+2) and took home $1,000 for his efforts.
The main event consisted of six qualifying squads spread across two days with the TAT Finals on Sunday afternoon. After each two qualifying squads, a cut of 1-in-6 per division was made for the Sunday Finals with two cuts on Saturday and a final cut on Sunday.
The 30 bowlers advancing to the finals at 4 PM on Sunday were guaranteed at least $300 and bowled single-game eliminator matches against one to five other bowlers within their respective divisions, narrowing down the field until only one bowler remained in each division. Each division winner was guaranteed a minimum of $1,000 and a shot at the $5,000 first prize in the Grand Final match between all of the division winners.
In the 50+ Senior Handicap Division, D.A. Smith of Fontana, CA made the cut with a 625 qualifying score (625+0) and reached the championship title match with a 212 (212+0), defeating Reny Alkonga of Beaumont, CA with 170 (162+8).
The winner of the 189 & Under Handicap Division was Carl Mangaran of Covina, CA, who qualified for the finals with a 680 handicap series (563+117) and advanced to the title match with a 204 (200+4) over Elton Cainag of La Mirada, CA, with 189 (158+31)..
To reach the title match from the 215 & Under Handicap Division, Kyle Ponzo of Chandler, AZ made the cut with a 650 qualifying score (638+12) and advanced to the title match with a 213 (193+20), defeating Tyler Veneracion of Irvine, CA with 194 (185+9) and Jeffrey Taino of Ontario, CA with 192 (168+24).
Eventual champion Justin Pluchino advanced past Brandon Mori of Chula Vista, CA by a score of 199-147 in the Scratch Division final match.
Each of the four division winners faced off in a single-game match with handicap for the title. All the finalists entered the Progressive Pot, which increases with each tournament entry and was carried over from the previous event, the 2024 TAT Spring Shootout in Mesa, AZ. For this event, the Progressive Pot stood at $2,900. By entering the Progressive Pot, the winner was guaranteed $5,000 for first place instead of $4,000 with a shot at 70% of the remaining $1,900 in the pot.
One of the key features of TAT events is that bowlers only compete against others in their own division for the entire tournament until there is only one bowler left standing from each division. In TAT Desert Southwest regionals, each division winner is guaranteed at least a $1,000 payday before facing off against one another in the Grand Final match, which is one game for the tournament championship. Each of the four arrived with a bowling résumé that showed experience in pressure situations, setting the stage for an exciting final match. Smith, a lefty who is well-known in the Southern California bowling community with countless 300 and 800 games to his credit, faced off against Ponzo, a rising star in Arizona who was captain of the ASU bowling team this past season and owns three AHT Strike Force titles, along with Pluchino, another well-known Southern California force with numerous 300 and 800s, and Mangaran, who has two ABT titles to his credit.
All the finalists threw the ball well in the championship game, with only three splits and one missed single pin in the entire match, despite the difficulty of the pattern. The key to the match ultimately proved to be who could string strikes together, and Pluchino, who strung a 5-bagger across the middle of the game, was the only competitor to throw more than a double before the 10th frame. Nevertheless, the outcome was very much in doubt until near the end of the game, when eventual 2nd place finisher Mangaran was unable to convert a 3-10 in the 9th frame. Pluchino followed that with a Brooklyn strike to open the 10th and a spare to seal the victory.
Because Pluchino was entered into the Progressive Pot, he not only won an automatic $1,000 bonus to achieve the $5,000 top prize, but he had a chance to win up to 70% of the remaining pot by throwing three strikes in a row across three lanes after his victory. He ultimately struck only once on three attempts to claim 10% of the $1,900 remaining in the pot, giving him a grand total of $5,190 for his victory. The remainder of the Progressive Pot will carry over to the next TAT Desert Southwest event, the TAT Monsoon Classic at Cerbat Lanes in Kingman, Arizona.
Recalling his performance, Pluchino, a first-time TAT participant who recently threw his high series of 866 (266-300-300) at Winnetka Bowl, had observed that the people who played to the right could get to the pocket but were leaving weak 10s, so he resolved to play inside everyone. He threw a Storm Journey at 500 surface the entire event. He stated that his inside line to the pocket was giving him both the high flush strikes and the mixers throughout the tournament, and this was evident to spectators in the Grand Final match.
Pluchino thanks TAT Desert Southwest for bringing TAT back to California, and is looking forward to bowling the TAT Summer Classic in Las Vegas in July. He would also like to thank his good friend George Ritter for bringing him to this event.
TAT Desert Southwest would like to thank tournament sponsors Storm Bowling, Coolwick, TAT Las Vegas, B3 Performance, and Tenpin Toolkit for their generous prize giveaways during the tournament and for their support of True Amateur Tournaments. TAT also sends a heartfelt thanks to Canyon Lanes GM Paula Vidad, along with her outstanding staff, plus Morongo Resort Casino and Spa for their wonderful support of this event in so many ways. TAT looks forward to coming back to Morongo again in the future.
The next TAT Desert Southwest tournament is the TAT Monsoon Classic being held at Cerbat Lanes in Kingman, Arizona. Cerbat is under new ownership and they are very excited to be bringing the TAT to their refreshed center. Enter all TAT events online at tatbowl.com.
In the group photo, from left to right:
TAT Desert Southwest Director John Verbil
3rd place Kyle Ponzo, 215 & Under Div., 204 (202+2) $1,500
Champion Justin Pluchino, Scratch Div., 238 (238+0) $5,190
2nd place Carl Mangaran, 189 & Under Div., 226 (202+24) $2,000
4th place D.A. Smith, 50+ Senior Div. 185 (185+0) $1,000
Main Event Cashers
$5,190 Justin Pluchino, Reseda CA, Scratch Div.
$2,000 Carl Mangaran, Covina CA, 189 & Under Hdcp Div.
$1,500 Kyle Ponzo, Chandler AZ, 215 & Under Hdcp Div.
$1,000 D.A. Smith, Fontana CA, 50+ Senior Hdcp Div.
$450 Elton Cainag, La Mirada CA, 189 & Under Div.
$375 Michael Arce, Peoria AZ, 189 & Under Div.
$375 Elino Nacpil, Henderson NV, 189 & Under Div.
$375 Beatriz Marquez, Chatsworth CA, 189 & Under Div.
$375 Ricky Ellis, Cabazon CA, 189 & Under Div.
$375 Tyler Veneracion, Irvine CA, 215 & Under Div.
$375 Jeffrey Taino, Ontario CA, 215 & Under Div.
$375 Reny Alkonga, Beaumont CA, 50+ Senior Div.
$375 Brandon Mori, Chula Vista CA, Scratch Div.
$300 Ishe Gathers, Encino CA, 189 & Under Div.
$300 Abel Barajas, Banning CA, 189 & Under Div.
$300 Mary Anne Francisco, Anaheim CA, 189 & Under Div.
$300 Sam Ha, West Covina CA, 189 & Under Div.
$300 Luis Boone, Mission Hills CA, 189 & Under Div.
$300 Steve Basdakis, Beaumont CA, 189 & Under Div.
$300 Fabian Johnson, Murrieta CA, 189 & Under Div.
$300 Veronica Boone, Mission Hills CA, 189 & Under Div.
$300 Josh Williams, Tempe AZ, 215 & Under Div.
$300 Floyd Toro, Banning CA, 215 & Under Div.
$300 Andrew Navarro, Norwalk CA, 215 & Under Div.
$300 Isaiah Nepomuceno, Rosemead CA, 215 & Under Div.
$300 Sol Cericos, Arcadia CA, 50+ Senior Div.
$300 Dave Inoshita, Cave Creek AZ, 50+ Senior Div.
$300 Christopher Fikler, Menifee CA, Scratch Div.
$300 Dylan Taylor, Scottsdale AZ, Scratch Div.
$300 Kyler Orosco, Agoura Hills CA, Scratch Div.
VIP Tournament Cashers
$500 Steve Basdakis, Beaumont CA, 270 (242+28)
$250 Abel Barajas, Banning CA, 267 (221+46)
$113 Ishe Gathers, Encino CA, 237 (203+34)
$113 Tyler Veneracion, Irvine CA, 237 (228+9)
$90 DeBrady Hampton, Menifee CA, 235 (197+38)
$70 Tré Mitchell, San Bernadino CA, 232 (220+12)
$70 Robert MacGregor, Phoenix AZ, 232 (199+33)
$70 Elino Nacpil, Henderson NV, 232 (199+33)
$50 Kelli Hampton, Menifee CA, 229 (195+34)
$45 Joshua Navarro, Norwalk CA, 227 (208+19)
$38 Kyle Ponzo, Chandler AZ, 224 (220+4)
$38 Ricky Ellis, Cabazon CA, 224 (179+45)
$30 Andrew Navarro, Norwalk CA, 220 (203+17)
Mini-TAT Sweeper Cashers
$1,000 Pat Lombardo, Glendale AZ, 50+ Senior Div., 206 (204+2)
$250 Carl Mangaran, Covina CA, 189 & Under Div., 193 (169+24)
$180 Tyler Veneracion, Irvine CA, 215 & Under Div.,174 (168+6)
$150 Jeffrey Ellis, Henderson NV, Scratch Div., 160 (160+0)
$100 Kyle Ponzo, Chandler AZ, 215 & Under Div.
$100 DeBrady Hampton, Menifee CA, 189 & Under Div.