Doubles Extraordinaires

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Twenty-two tandems took part in the inaugural Palisades Bocce Doubles Championships last Sunday afternoon at Veterans Gardens and after four hours of intense drama, stellar shot-making and riveting play-by-play commentary from Club President Jimmy Dunne, one pair reigned supreme. Vito Altieri and Bob Thomas walked away with the first-place prize and praise from everyone who stuck around to the end to watch the finals, in which the High Rollers teammates took on the formidable husband-wife duo of Dennis and Evette Richardson.

“All I was thinking about was greasing it in there to get the third point,” the 89-year-old Altieri said of his title-clinching roll to wrap up an 8-0 triumph in the finals. “It’s about strategy, about touch and knowing how the opposing team throws.”

“We were feeling good about our chances but also nervous because in single elimination your day could be done in 15 minutes,” added the 81-year old Thomas, who was at his best in an 8-1 semifinal victory over Kevin Vo and Steve Dahlberg, who were teammates on Chewbacce in the Sunset League in the spring.

Thomas, a proud Palisadian, and Altieri of Santa Monica, led High Rollers to the Senior League title last autumn and again in the spring, beating The Martinis in the final on captain Altieri’s 5-Point Bay to earn free drinks and dinners at Golden Bull and a ride in a convertible in this year’s Fourth of July Parade.

The single tournament consisted of teams made up two men, two women or one man and one woman of any age. Pali Pado Paisanos’ Brian Pado was excited to make the “Final Four” with his son Chase, who made the trip up from San Diego. They got to enjoy sandwiches, drinks and chips when their run finally ended in an 8-4 defeat to the Richardsons, who helped their Sunset League squad, Pali Pallinos, win its division two weeks earlier. The 26-year Ocampo couple agreed that practice is the key: “We’ve played in France and these courts are much faster,” Evette said. “We thought we had a shot if we were on our game.”

   “Bocce’s something we do together and we love it,” Dennis added. “We’ve made lots of friends here.”