WPH Press, Manhattan, NY, 8/2/21
Play Handball for the Cure Speaker’s Cup 1-Wall Small Ball singles and doubles, hosted by the ICHA and the NYC Parks and Recreation from July 24-25, is 1-Wall Small Ball’s most important event before the USHA’s 1-Wall Nationals, as the Speaker’s Cup traditionally attracts most of the game’s top 1-Wall Small Ball players aiming to build momentum for the 1-Wall Nationals on the second weekend in August.
The NYFD’s Saul Gonzalez entered the 2021 Speaker’s Cup as the second seed in a stacked 16-man draw in Central Park. Gonzalez dominated the bottom half of the draw, eliminating Paul Barboza in the round of 16, dangerous sharpshooter Michael Wu in the quarterfinals, and former national champion Victor Lopierre in the semifinals, outscoring his three bottom bracket opponents 75-28.
1-Wall legend Cesar Sala entered the Speaker’s Cup as the top seed, but was stunned in the opening round by the Bronx’s Christopher Briones Moran. Moran rode his momentum into the semifinals, but was stopped by 1-Wall veteran and resurgent Jai Ragoo.
Gonzalez met the fifth-seeded Ragoo in the final and continued his stellar play, convincingly ousting the Lake Forester, 25-8.
Gonzalez teamed with hard-hitting Eugene Lau to slam the doubles, overcoming Ragoo and Joe Kaplan, 25-15 in the final.
Follow all of the results from the Play Handball for the Cure Speaker’s Cup HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer