South Gate, CA, WPH Press, 10/23/22
Samzon Hernandez hosted the Amado Hernandez Memorial at Hollydale Park, paying tribute to his late father and beloved Southern California handball icon Amado Hernandez. 222 Big Ball stars entered The Amado, including tournament host and former WPH Outdoor #1 Samzon Hernandez, white hot Oscar Siordia, Chava Cordova, Boxer Rosales, and Jerry “Bear” Vicencio.
Oscar Siordia defeated Edgar Vizcaino in two games in the semifinals to advance to the singles final, while Chava Cordova and tournament host Samzon Hernandez played the match of the tournament in the bottom bracket semifinal.
“Samzon was playing with lots of intensity,” stated Tom Flores. “It felt like a finals match. Chava just would not be denied, playing through some tough games and returning amazing shots, including a diving kill on the final point (with both players at 10 playing to 11 in rally scoring).”
Samzon vs. Chava semifinal tiebreaker, courtesy of Javi Flores HERE
Siordia dominated the final against Chava, taking the Amado in two games. “It just seemed like Chava was tired from defeating Samzon in the semifinal and did not have much energy in the final,” stated Tom Flores.
Chava Cordova bounced back from the singles loss to team with Ivan Chapa to defeat Anthony “Chopper” Hernandez and Manny Carabalo in the doubles final.
“Lots of exciting matches were played, several upsets were made, but more importantly everyone came together to celebrate the life of someone who meant so much to so many (Amado Hernandez),” stated Carlos Torres.
Follow all of the brackets from The Amado HERE
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer