RONNIE BEATS RICKY IN GUINNESS 9-BALL GRAND FINALE
MANILA, PHILIPPINES---CURRENT WPA 9-ball and WPA 8-ball champion Ronato Alcano needed just 1 hour and 49 minutes to down Rick Yang of Indonesia (9-7) at the start of 2007 Guinness 9-Ball Tour Grand Final Leg late Friday at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bali, Indonesia
The 34-year-old Alcano had a scary moment last night after Yang rallied in the end game.
In fact Ricky had a chance to reach the hill in the 15th frame but suffered his fifth unforced error in the break after his mother ball scratched.
"Sa tingin ko 'yung pinaka turning point nungg nag scratch si Ricky (Yang) sa 15th rack. Dahil doon ako naka 8-7 tapos ako pa ang magbi break sa 16 th rack" said Alcano after the match last night.
The Philippine No.1 Rotation player was hot in the start of the game despite Ricky’s win in the opening lag, Ronnie raced to a 4-0 lead.
Ricky, the reigning Indonesian national champion (Persatuan Olahraga Billiard Seluruh Indonesia) closed in at 4-2 winning two consecutive racks.
Both players traded safety shots as Alcano took control of the game in the 9th rack with a 6-3 lead before Ricky tied the game at 6-all then 7-all.
Another ex-world 9-ball champion Wu Chia-ching of Taiwan edged compatriot Yang Ching-shun (9-8) to join Alcano in the winning column in Group A with a 1-0 apiece record. Indian hopeful Dharminder Lily completed the five-man cast in Group A
Both Alcano and Wu are gunning for their second straight win late Friday facing Yang Ching-shun and Dharminder, respectively. Alcano's last two round assignments are Wu and Dharminder today, Saturday at 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm respectively.
In the other side of the draw, another Filipino entry Lee Vann Corteza will open his bid against Singaporean Bernard Tey Choon kiat and Chao-fong pao.
The last two remaining opponents of Corteza in Group B were Taiwanese Chang Jung-lin and Filipino-Malaysian Ibrahim Bin Amir, today, Saturday at 3:30 and 6:30 pm.
The format calls they will play a single round robin for the race-to-nine alternate-break group stage where the top two players in each group will advance to the race-to-11 knockout semi-finals. The semis winners will play for the title and the US $36,000 championship prize.
A player must win by a margin of at least two racks (within a maximum of 13 games) in the semis and finals matches of the three-day $70,000 Grand Final. In case of a tie in the group stage, order will be determined by the number of racks won, then by number of rack lost and finally a lucky draw.
The Guinness Top 10 will qualify in the 2007 WPA World 9-Ball Championship in Manila on November 3 to 11.
The Guinness 9Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU) and organized by ESPN Star Sports' Event Management Group (EMG) in close cooperation with Persatuan Olahraga Billiard Seluruh Indonesia (POBSI).
ALCANO, CORTEZA VYING GUINNESS 9-BALL TOUR GRAND FINALE TODAY
CURRENT double world champion Ronato "Volcano" Alcano and reigning national champion and All Japan ruler Lee Vann "Slayer" Corteza are definitely ready for war when the 2007 Guinness 9-Ball Tour Grand Final blasts today, Friday at the the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bali, Indonesia featuring the Tour's top 10 players after five legs, including order of merit elimination top notcher Yang Ching-Chun and Chang Jung-lin of Taiwan.
The 28-year-old Corteza, top player of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) who hails from Mintal, Davao City, and his wife Gelia planed in to Bali, Indonesia Wednesday night for the three-day championship which ends Sunday according to NBS coach/ manager Christopher Palses.
"I hope Van-Van (Corteza) and Ronnie (Alcano) will play very well for the country's glory" said NBS coach/ manaher Christopher Palses.
The 34-year-old lanky cue artist Alcano on the other hand, was already in Indonesia since last week to shoot for a Guinness commercial along with Bugsy stablemate Elmer "Buddy" Kalaquian.
Corteza, arrived in the country last week after winning the Turning Stone Classic in Verona, New York where he bagged the US$8,000 top purse. He also settled runner-up place in the 2007 International Challenge of Champion US$50,000 winner-take all at the Mohegan Sun's Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. Corteza the only Filipino player manage to reach the finals in the inaugural Guinness Jakarta Tour leg.
Alcano, meanwhile is responsible for Corteza's trip to the Grand Final when the Philippine rotation No.1 player booted out his semifinal opponent in the fifth leg just a couple of weeks ago.
Corteza the other top nine players, who qualified after earning the most number of points in the past five legs held in Jakarta, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Singapore and Shanghai, China, will be divided into two groups of five.
Yang, Chang Jung-Lin, Chao and former World Pool champion Wu-Chia Ching, Indonesia's Ricky Yang, Malaysia's Ibrahim Amir, India's Dharminder Singh Lilly and Singapore's Bernard Tey complete the cast of the Guinness finalists.
They will play a single round robin for the race-to-nine alternate-break group stage where the top two players in each group will advance to the race-to-11 knockout semi-finals. The semis winners will play in the title and the US $36,000 championship prize.
ESPN Star Sports will air live telecast of the tournament starting 5:00 p.m. Friday, Hong Kong time.
The Guinness 9Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU) and organized by ESPN Star Sports' Event Management Group (EMG) in close cooperation with Persatuan Olahraga Billiar Seluruh Indonesia (POBSI).
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
RENEMAR DAVID EYES WORLD JUNIOR CROWN, AS RP JUNIOR ELIMS GETS UNDERWAY
RENEMAR "Revo" David is aiming to improve his quarter-final finish when the 2007 WPA World Junior 9-ball Championships gets underway on November 26 to 30 in Willengen, Germany.
"I'm looking to improve on my quarter-final finish last year by playing in this year's World Junior in Germany, in fact right now I'm in a rigid training program for that event," said the 18-year-old David, playing under the banner of Edwin Reyes stable in an interview late yesterday. He lost to a Nicaraguan player in last year's edition in Sydney, Australia. Taiwanese Wu Yu-lun is the reigning three-time World Junior champion.
According to BSCP, "The world junior championship has been a fixture of international pool for over a decade, but the Philippines only joined the tourney last year in Sydney, Australia when the BSCP sent Renemar David. He reached the quarterfinals of the competition, and this qualified him for this year's championship.
Meanwhile, BSCP announced yesterday the staging of the first Philippine Junior Pool Championship (JPC) on September 19-21 at the Rizal Memorial Billiards Center where the top two finishers will represent the country in Germany.
Among the early entries that includes Renemar David are, Johann Chua of Puyat Sports, Mike Takayama of Bugsy Promotion, 13-year-od Jonas Magpantay of Bronco stable, Jech-Jech Limen, Jomel Sultan and Noel Caro of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS).
Interestingly, Hadley "Wu Chia Chiang" Mariano, the son on billiard patron Perry Mariano will also play in the first Philippine junior event.
The tournament is open to all male players aged 19 and below. No entry fee is required.
Up for grabs are trophies and medals plus cash prizes for the top performers. The champion takes home Php50,000, Php25,000 to second, Php15,000 to third, and Php7,500 to fourth.
Players interested in joining the tournament should register with Mr. Ramon Ancaja at the Rizal Memorial Billiards Center. They are required to bring a birth certificate attesting to their eligibility to join the competition.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
"I'm looking to improve on my quarter-final finish last year by playing in this year's World Junior in Germany, in fact right now I'm in a rigid training program for that event," said the 18-year-old David, playing under the banner of Edwin Reyes stable in an interview late yesterday. He lost to a Nicaraguan player in last year's edition in Sydney, Australia. Taiwanese Wu Yu-lun is the reigning three-time World Junior champion.
According to BSCP, "The world junior championship has been a fixture of international pool for over a decade, but the Philippines only joined the tourney last year in Sydney, Australia when the BSCP sent Renemar David. He reached the quarterfinals of the competition, and this qualified him for this year's championship.
Meanwhile, BSCP announced yesterday the staging of the first Philippine Junior Pool Championship (JPC) on September 19-21 at the Rizal Memorial Billiards Center where the top two finishers will represent the country in Germany.
Among the early entries that includes Renemar David are, Johann Chua of Puyat Sports, Mike Takayama of Bugsy Promotion, 13-year-od Jonas Magpantay of Bronco stable, Jech-Jech Limen, Jomel Sultan and Noel Caro of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS).
Interestingly, Hadley "Wu Chia Chiang" Mariano, the son on billiard patron Perry Mariano will also play in the first Philippine junior event.
The tournament is open to all male players aged 19 and below. No entry fee is required.
Up for grabs are trophies and medals plus cash prizes for the top performers. The champion takes home Php50,000, Php25,000 to second, Php15,000 to third, and Php7,500 to fourth.
Players interested in joining the tournament should register with Mr. Ramon Ancaja at the Rizal Memorial Billiards Center. They are required to bring a birth certificate attesting to their eligibility to join the competition.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
DOUBLE WORLD CHAMP ALCANO BANNERS POOL SHOWDOWN
RONATO "VOLCANO" ALCANO, the current WPA 9-ball and WPA 8-ball champion, will have tough workouts heading to his title defense in November.
"BSCP is fully supporting this program, i know all the players are very excited in this event and we thank Raya Sports and ABC 5 for that." Said Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) president Ernie Fajardo to the local media in a luncheon meeting held Wednesday at the Sofitel Plaza in Manila, hosted by Raya Sports president Yen Makabenta and officials from ABC 5.
The 34-year-old lanky cue artist from Calamba, Laguna heads a star-studded cast of Pool Showdown, a new sports program made for television that will have its premiere on Sept. 18.
Joining him are world-beaters Lee Vann Corteza, Dennis Orcollo, Antonio Gabica, Joven Bustamante and Warren Kiamco. All of them have been making waves in the international scene recently.
Corteza is the reigning National Champion and recently won the Turning Stone 9-ball in Verona, New York, while Orcollo is the BCA Enjoy Pool champion, Gabica was a 9-ball gold medalist in last year's Asian Games and also the silver medalist in the 8-ball competition, Bustamante topped the Korea Open, and Kiamco pocketed the US Bar Table 9-ball and 8-ball championships.
There are also foreign players who have signified their intent to play.
Among them are former world champions Mika Immonen of Finland and Wu Chia-Ching of Taiwan, Predator 10-ball champion Shane Van Boening, former US Open winner Rodney Morris, top-ranked American Max Eberle, UK champ Darren Appleton and Singapore champ Kweng Kang.
The Pool Showdown, a co-production of ABC Sports and Raya, will be shown live on prime time on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 7 to 9 p.m.
Three game formats will be featured in Pool Showdown, the 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball. Two pools of six players each will play a race-to-10 ring game in the inaugural show. The winners of the ring games will go to the Match of the Week on the first Saturday of the show with the winner becoming a hot seat player.
In the succeeding weeks, one ring game will be played on Tuesday to determine the challenger to the hot seat player. The last man standing in the grand final in December will be declared champion and bag the top prize of US$12,000.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
"BSCP is fully supporting this program, i know all the players are very excited in this event and we thank Raya Sports and ABC 5 for that." Said Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) president Ernie Fajardo to the local media in a luncheon meeting held Wednesday at the Sofitel Plaza in Manila, hosted by Raya Sports president Yen Makabenta and officials from ABC 5.
The 34-year-old lanky cue artist from Calamba, Laguna heads a star-studded cast of Pool Showdown, a new sports program made for television that will have its premiere on Sept. 18.
Joining him are world-beaters Lee Vann Corteza, Dennis Orcollo, Antonio Gabica, Joven Bustamante and Warren Kiamco. All of them have been making waves in the international scene recently.
Corteza is the reigning National Champion and recently won the Turning Stone 9-ball in Verona, New York, while Orcollo is the BCA Enjoy Pool champion, Gabica was a 9-ball gold medalist in last year's Asian Games and also the silver medalist in the 8-ball competition, Bustamante topped the Korea Open, and Kiamco pocketed the US Bar Table 9-ball and 8-ball championships.
There are also foreign players who have signified their intent to play.
Among them are former world champions Mika Immonen of Finland and Wu Chia-Ching of Taiwan, Predator 10-ball champion Shane Van Boening, former US Open winner Rodney Morris, top-ranked American Max Eberle, UK champ Darren Appleton and Singapore champ Kweng Kang.
The Pool Showdown, a co-production of ABC Sports and Raya, will be shown live on prime time on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 7 to 9 p.m.
Three game formats will be featured in Pool Showdown, the 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball. Two pools of six players each will play a race-to-10 ring game in the inaugural show. The winners of the ring games will go to the Match of the Week on the first Saturday of the show with the winner becoming a hot seat player.
In the succeeding weeks, one ring game will be played on Tuesday to determine the challenger to the hot seat player. The last man standing in the grand final in December will be declared champion and bag the top prize of US$12,000.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
BUSTAMANTE, GUEVARRA HEAD LIST IN SMC SCOTCH DOUBLES 10-BALL
THE TANDEM of Joven Bustamante and Benjie Guevarra heads the list when the country's first ever San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Scotch Doubles 10-ball event gets going on September 19, 20 and 21 at the Elbowroom/ Metro Walk in Pasig City.
The 28-year-old Bustamante, top player of Bugsy Promotion is fresh from earning one of the four slots allocated in the SMB RP 9-ball Open Baguio leg last Sunday while the 29-year-old Guevarra, top player of Bronco Stable won the winner-take-all 9-ball in Bowling Inn in Taft Avenue early this month.
"Ngayong pa lamang ay puspusan na ang paghahanda namin ni Benjie (Guevarra) sa SMC Scotch 10-ball doubles," said Joven, who is in the middle of rigid training along with Benjie at the Bugsy Lair's Billiard hall in Quezon City and Game Bowl at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Other players invited in this event are: are current double world champion Ronato Alcano, 2007 BCA Enjoypool.com Dennis Orcollo, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball gold at 8-ball silver medalist Antonio Gabica, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball silver medalist Jeffrey de Luna, 2007 Oslo, Norway Battle of Scandinavia 9-ball champion Roberto Gomez, 2006 SMB Asian 9-ball tour champion Gandy Valle, 2007 Korean Pro tour 9-ball champion Joven Bustamante, Carlo Biado, Mike Takayama and Elmer Kalaquian. The winning team (pair) will receive Php140,000.
Bronco stable member Jundel Mazon, and Jomas de Ocampo will also play along with Edwin Reyes, and top gunner in the 2006 Sydney World Junior quarter-finalist Renemar David.
Meanwhile, Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) top ace and reigning national open champion Lee Vann Corteza will also see action in this tournament. The 28-year-old Davao cue master is coming from a big win in the 2007 Turning Stone 9-ball Championships last August 16-19 at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
The 28-year-old Bustamante, top player of Bugsy Promotion is fresh from earning one of the four slots allocated in the SMB RP 9-ball Open Baguio leg last Sunday while the 29-year-old Guevarra, top player of Bronco Stable won the winner-take-all 9-ball in Bowling Inn in Taft Avenue early this month.
"Ngayong pa lamang ay puspusan na ang paghahanda namin ni Benjie (Guevarra) sa SMC Scotch 10-ball doubles," said Joven, who is in the middle of rigid training along with Benjie at the Bugsy Lair's Billiard hall in Quezon City and Game Bowl at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Other players invited in this event are: are current double world champion Ronato Alcano, 2007 BCA Enjoypool.com Dennis Orcollo, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball gold at 8-ball silver medalist Antonio Gabica, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball silver medalist Jeffrey de Luna, 2007 Oslo, Norway Battle of Scandinavia 9-ball champion Roberto Gomez, 2006 SMB Asian 9-ball tour champion Gandy Valle, 2007 Korean Pro tour 9-ball champion Joven Bustamante, Carlo Biado, Mike Takayama and Elmer Kalaquian. The winning team (pair) will receive Php140,000.
Bronco stable member Jundel Mazon, and Jomas de Ocampo will also play along with Edwin Reyes, and top gunner in the 2006 Sydney World Junior quarter-finalist Renemar David.
Meanwhile, Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) top ace and reigning national open champion Lee Vann Corteza will also see action in this tournament. The 28-year-old Davao cue master is coming from a big win in the 2007 Turning Stone 9-ball Championships last August 16-19 at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
CHUA , DE LUNA SHINE IN SMB RP 9-BALL OPEN BAGUIO LEG
JOHANN "Bubwit" Chua and Jeffrey "The Bull" De Luna hurdled their respective rivals to finish undefeated in this 64 man-field of the 4th annual San Miguel Beer Philippine 9-ball Open held last Sunday at the Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall in Baguio City.
The 17-year-old Chua who hails from Bacolod City, the 2006 Philippine Olympic Festival runner-up got bye in the first round then nipped Alexander Gallero (7-5), Renemar David (7-4), Chinese Lee Chen Man (7-4), and Jimmy Cheng (7-6), respectively.
The 22-year-old De Luna on the other hand, who hails from Marinduque also drew bye in the opener then crushed , Patrick Gonzales (7-5), Roland Garcia (7-2), Joven Bustamante (7-6), and Jayjay Millares (7-6) to claim the first two slots in the event, organized by Solar Sports in close cooperation with Puyat Sports headed by Philippine Billiard God Father Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer who offered a total pot prize of Php1.35 million where the champion gets the lion's share of Php500,000.
"I hope na makalaban ako agad sa main draw either si Alex (Pagulayan) o Django (Bustamante). Tinalo kasi ako ni Alex sa last year's BSCP habang 2 years ago ay tinalo naman ako ni Django sa RP 9-ball Open ng Solar" said De Luna in an exclusive interview with this writer yesterday.
Bustamante and Millares beat their respective opponents to secure the last two remaining slots in the loser's brackets, in this race-to-7, double elimination format to join Chua and De Luna in the Grand Finals on September 14-16. Bustamante beat Cheng (7-3), while Millares edges Roberto Dy (7-6), in the one loss side.
The big 9-ball event in Baguio was well attended, and strong players like Ramil "Bebeng" Gallego, Warren Kiamco, Troy Danao, John Rebong, national women's team members Rubilen Amit, Irish Ranola and Mary Ann Basas and Japanese Naomi Inoue were among the 64 players in the event who are hoping to get the allotted four slots to advance in the Grand Finals.
Puyat Sports events manager Ish Caparras said that seeded in the main draw were two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
Meanwhile, action resumes this weekend when the last qualifying leg gets underway on Sept. 1-2 at the AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth in Quezon City.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
The 17-year-old Chua who hails from Bacolod City, the 2006 Philippine Olympic Festival runner-up got bye in the first round then nipped Alexander Gallero (7-5), Renemar David (7-4), Chinese Lee Chen Man (7-4), and Jimmy Cheng (7-6), respectively.
The 22-year-old De Luna on the other hand, who hails from Marinduque also drew bye in the opener then crushed , Patrick Gonzales (7-5), Roland Garcia (7-2), Joven Bustamante (7-6), and Jayjay Millares (7-6) to claim the first two slots in the event, organized by Solar Sports in close cooperation with Puyat Sports headed by Philippine Billiard God Father Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer who offered a total pot prize of Php1.35 million where the champion gets the lion's share of Php500,000.
"I hope na makalaban ako agad sa main draw either si Alex (Pagulayan) o Django (Bustamante). Tinalo kasi ako ni Alex sa last year's BSCP habang 2 years ago ay tinalo naman ako ni Django sa RP 9-ball Open ng Solar" said De Luna in an exclusive interview with this writer yesterday.
Bustamante and Millares beat their respective opponents to secure the last two remaining slots in the loser's brackets, in this race-to-7, double elimination format to join Chua and De Luna in the Grand Finals on September 14-16. Bustamante beat Cheng (7-3), while Millares edges Roberto Dy (7-6), in the one loss side.
The big 9-ball event in Baguio was well attended, and strong players like Ramil "Bebeng" Gallego, Warren Kiamco, Troy Danao, John Rebong, national women's team members Rubilen Amit, Irish Ranola and Mary Ann Basas and Japanese Naomi Inoue were among the 64 players in the event who are hoping to get the allotted four slots to advance in the Grand Finals.
Puyat Sports events manager Ish Caparras said that seeded in the main draw were two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
Meanwhile, action resumes this weekend when the last qualifying leg gets underway on Sept. 1-2 at the AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth in Quezon City.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
GIVE ME A BREAK
Commentary: By Frank Lacambra
Last bus to a Guinness Tour victory
The grand finale of the inaugural Guinness 9-ball Tour gets on the road at the end of this month.
It’s been an enjoyable and exciting series the past five months. But for many Filipinos, it’s been a frustrating, if not an embarrassing, time. Primarily because of one thing: Filipino billiards players ended up without winning a tour leg, in spite of the fact that the BSCP fielded some of our finest players.
This coming weekend’s event is the icing on the cake, so to speak. The top 10 players of the tour will battle it out, not for a leg title, but for the overall championship and the enticingly generous prize money put up by the Guinness people.
For Filipino billiards aficionados, however, it has become a matter of pride. The battle cry is loud and clear: we need to win this one, if only to prove that Filipino pool masters are as good as advertised. So you can imagine the tremendous pressure on our players—to “whup ‘em.”
The job has fallen on two of our guys who are left standing, namely: Ronnie Alcano, the reigning WPC champion, and Lee Vann Corteza, the current national champion.
Will one of them deliver? Will he bring home the victory we need so desperately and salve our collective bruised ego?
Last bus to a Guinness Tour victory
The grand finale of the inaugural Guinness 9-ball Tour gets on the road at the end of this month.
It’s been an enjoyable and exciting series the past five months. But for many Filipinos, it’s been a frustrating, if not an embarrassing, time. Primarily because of one thing: Filipino billiards players ended up without winning a tour leg, in spite of the fact that the BSCP fielded some of our finest players.
This coming weekend’s event is the icing on the cake, so to speak. The top 10 players of the tour will battle it out, not for a leg title, but for the overall championship and the enticingly generous prize money put up by the Guinness people.
For Filipino billiards aficionados, however, it has become a matter of pride. The battle cry is loud and clear: we need to win this one, if only to prove that Filipino pool masters are as good as advertised. So you can imagine the tremendous pressure on our players—to “whup ‘em.”
The job has fallen on two of our guys who are left standing, namely: Ronnie Alcano, the reigning WPC champion, and Lee Vann Corteza, the current national champion.
Will one of them deliver? Will he bring home the victory we need so desperately and salve our collective bruised ego?
Saturday, August 25, 2007
CORTEZA, ALCANO EYES GUINNESS GRAND FINALS CROWN
AFTER a magnificent performance in Verona, New York, reigning national open champion and All Japan championship winner Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza sets his eyes on the Guinness 9-Ball Tour Grand Championship Finals in Bali, Indonesia set on August 31 to September 2.
Corteza was champion in the Turning Stone Classic XI at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York to bag the top prize of US$8,000 in the 128 player tournament. Corteza also finished runner-up in the 2007 International Challenge of Champions US$50 thousand winner-take all last August 10-12 in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA behind eventual winner Niels "The Terminator" Feijen of the Netherlands.
He is the second Filipino to make the cut in the 10-man Guinness 9-Ball Tour of Merit, besides reigning World 9-Ball and 8-Ball champion Ronato "Volcano" Alcano.
The eight other qualifiers in the Bali finals are Chinese Taipei cue artists Yang Ching-Shun, Chang Jung-Lin, Chao Fong-Pang and former World Pool champion Wu Chia-Ching, Indonesian Ricky Yang, Mindanao-born Malaysian Ibrahim Amir, Indian Dharminder Singh Lilly and Singaporean Bernard Tey.
The 28-year-old Corteza, top player of Negros Billiard Stable planed in from New York to Manila last Thursday to spend time with his wife Gelia and son Lee Vann Jr. in Marikina City and his benefactor NBS president Jonathan Sy and NBS coach/manager Christopher Palses before he leaves for Bali on Monday.
The 34-year-old Alcano from Calamba City, Laguna on the other hand, arrived last Wednesday from his US sojourn, is scheduled to fly to Indonesia for the Guinness 9-ball tour.
Corteza and Alcano, both admitted it will be anybody's game in Bali considering that his rivals are also very good players.
The duo is praying for good breaks and consistency to pull through their matches in the Chinese-dominated qualifying round.
Corteza gained a total of 100 points that was needed to qualify for the finals after earning 50 points in his runner-up finish in the Jakarta leg, 30 points in his quarter-finals finish in Malaysia and 20 points in the final leg in Shanghai, China. Alcano finished at fourth with 160 points in the top 10 tour order of merit.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Corteza was champion in the Turning Stone Classic XI at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York to bag the top prize of US$8,000 in the 128 player tournament. Corteza also finished runner-up in the 2007 International Challenge of Champions US$50 thousand winner-take all last August 10-12 in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA behind eventual winner Niels "The Terminator" Feijen of the Netherlands.
He is the second Filipino to make the cut in the 10-man Guinness 9-Ball Tour of Merit, besides reigning World 9-Ball and 8-Ball champion Ronato "Volcano" Alcano.
The eight other qualifiers in the Bali finals are Chinese Taipei cue artists Yang Ching-Shun, Chang Jung-Lin, Chao Fong-Pang and former World Pool champion Wu Chia-Ching, Indonesian Ricky Yang, Mindanao-born Malaysian Ibrahim Amir, Indian Dharminder Singh Lilly and Singaporean Bernard Tey.
The 28-year-old Corteza, top player of Negros Billiard Stable planed in from New York to Manila last Thursday to spend time with his wife Gelia and son Lee Vann Jr. in Marikina City and his benefactor NBS president Jonathan Sy and NBS coach/manager Christopher Palses before he leaves for Bali on Monday.
The 34-year-old Alcano from Calamba City, Laguna on the other hand, arrived last Wednesday from his US sojourn, is scheduled to fly to Indonesia for the Guinness 9-ball tour.
Corteza and Alcano, both admitted it will be anybody's game in Bali considering that his rivals are also very good players.
The duo is praying for good breaks and consistency to pull through their matches in the Chinese-dominated qualifying round.
Corteza gained a total of 100 points that was needed to qualify for the finals after earning 50 points in his runner-up finish in the Jakarta leg, 30 points in his quarter-finals finish in Malaysia and 20 points in the final leg in Shanghai, China. Alcano finished at fourth with 160 points in the top 10 tour order of merit.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Thursday, August 23, 2007
ORCOLLO RETUNS FOR SMC SCOTCH DOUBLES 10-BALL
PHILIPPINE Billiards money game king Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo will arrive today from a US sojourn to compete in the forthcoming country's first ever San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Scotch Doubles 10-ball event on September 19, 20 and 21 at the Elbowroom/ Metro Walk in Pasig City.
"The return of Dennis (Orcollo) would certainly make a difference in the forthcoming local tournaments" said Bugsy Promotion boss/ sportsman Perry Mariano.
The 28-year-old Orcollo, top player of star-studded Bugsy Promotion stable won the 2007 BCA Enjoypool.com 9-ball championships last May 12-19 at the Riviera Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, Nevada to advance in the main draw of 2007 World Pool Championships on November 3-11 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.
Orcollo, the 2006 World Pool league champion is also scheduled to compete in the Grand Finale of 4th annual SMB Philippine 9-ball Open on September 14-16 (venue to be announced).
The former fisherman from Bislig, Surigao del Sur is currently ranked second in the 2007 Player Money list after his winnings totaled US$59,700 that includes a runner-up finish in the 2007 Fujairah World 8-ball championships last May 1-8 at the Fujairah Bustan Centre in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
Aside from Orcollo, other Filipino pool shark's are expected to join the country's first ever San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Scotch Doubles 10-ball event with top prize Php140,000 goes to the winning team where fellow Bugsy stablemate and current double world champion Ronato Alcano, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball gold at 8-ball silver medalist Antonio Gabica, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball silver medalist Jeffrey de Luna, 2007 Oslo, Norway Battle of Scandinavia 9-ball champion Roberto Gomez, 2006 SMB Asian 9-ball tour champion Gandy Valle, 2007 Korean Pro tour 9-ball champion Joven Bustamante, Carlo Biado, Mike Takayama and Elmer Kalaquian.
Bronco stable on the other hand will parade the like's of Benjie Guevarra, Jundel Mazon, and Jomar de Ocampo while the Edwin Reyes stable will enter 2006 Sydney World Junior quarter-finalist Renemar David.
Also invited are rising Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) top gunner and reigning national open champion Lee Vann Corteza, who is fresh from winning the 2007 Turning Stone 9-ball Championships at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York last August 16-19.
And finally, from the Puyat Sports stable headed by top player 1999 Cardiff World 9-ball champion Efren "Bata" Reyes and 2002 Cardiff World 9-ball runner-up Francisco "Django" Bustamante will also play in this tournament.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO).
"The return of Dennis (Orcollo) would certainly make a difference in the forthcoming local tournaments" said Bugsy Promotion boss/ sportsman Perry Mariano.
The 28-year-old Orcollo, top player of star-studded Bugsy Promotion stable won the 2007 BCA Enjoypool.com 9-ball championships last May 12-19 at the Riviera Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, Nevada to advance in the main draw of 2007 World Pool Championships on November 3-11 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.
Orcollo, the 2006 World Pool league champion is also scheduled to compete in the Grand Finale of 4th annual SMB Philippine 9-ball Open on September 14-16 (venue to be announced).
The former fisherman from Bislig, Surigao del Sur is currently ranked second in the 2007 Player Money list after his winnings totaled US$59,700 that includes a runner-up finish in the 2007 Fujairah World 8-ball championships last May 1-8 at the Fujairah Bustan Centre in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
Aside from Orcollo, other Filipino pool shark's are expected to join the country's first ever San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Scotch Doubles 10-ball event with top prize Php140,000 goes to the winning team where fellow Bugsy stablemate and current double world champion Ronato Alcano, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball gold at 8-ball silver medalist Antonio Gabica, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball silver medalist Jeffrey de Luna, 2007 Oslo, Norway Battle of Scandinavia 9-ball champion Roberto Gomez, 2006 SMB Asian 9-ball tour champion Gandy Valle, 2007 Korean Pro tour 9-ball champion Joven Bustamante, Carlo Biado, Mike Takayama and Elmer Kalaquian.
Bronco stable on the other hand will parade the like's of Benjie Guevarra, Jundel Mazon, and Jomar de Ocampo while the Edwin Reyes stable will enter 2006 Sydney World Junior quarter-finalist Renemar David.
Also invited are rising Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) top gunner and reigning national open champion Lee Vann Corteza, who is fresh from winning the 2007 Turning Stone 9-ball Championships at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York last August 16-19.
And finally, from the Puyat Sports stable headed by top player 1999 Cardiff World 9-ball champion Efren "Bata" Reyes and 2002 Cardiff World 9-ball runner-up Francisco "Django" Bustamante will also play in this tournament.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO).
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
VILLANUEVA, CRUZ TOPS SMB RP 9-BALL OPEN BACOLOD LEG
EDUARDO "PIKOY" VILLANUEVA and Rene "Bata" Cruz hurdled their respective rivals to finish undefeated in the 38 man-field of the 4th annual San Miguel Beer Philippine 9-ball Open held last Sunday at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar in Bacolod City.
The Bacolod City native Villanueva, who placed runner-up to eventual champion Jose "Amang" Parica in the 1993 RP 9-ball Open in Ninoy, Aquino Stadium, drew 'bye' in the first round, then subdued Warren Kiamco (7-6), Manolo Tanasas (7-5), Ronnie Aying (7-6), and Jarry Pelayo (7-5), respectively.
Cruz on the other hand, who hails from Nueva Ecija also drew 'bye' in the opener then trounced Edgardo Sibuco (7-6), Ranel Bayona (7-2), Jimmy Cheng (7-5), and Jose Drilon (7-2) to claim the first two slots in the two-day event (August 18-19) hosted by Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) president and Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) director Jonathan Sy.
Tournament favorites Roberto Gomez of Divisoria, Zamboanga and Jharome Pena of Marinduque nipped their respective opponents to secure the last two remaining slots in the loser's brackets, in this race-to-7, double elimination format to join Villanueva and Cruz in the Grand Finals on September 14-16. Gomez downed Drilon (7-5) while Pena edged Pelayo (7-5) in the one-loss side.
Before relegating in the loser's-side, Gomez bowed to Pelayo (7-4) in the fourth match of the winner's brackets while Pena yielded to Drilon (7-4).
In the first leg of this tournament, Ricky Zerna, Russian Petiza and Panfilo Damuag of Negros Billiard Stable and 2006 Kuwait 9-ball Open champion Jundel Mazon of Bronco Stable took the allotted four slots held at the Paeng's Skybowl, Robinson's Galleria in Mandaluyong City last August 4-5.
The top four finishers in the second leg last August 11-12 were Gandy Valle, Glendford Autor, Danny Otacan and NBS bet Jech-Jech Limen was held at the B3 Bowling Billiards and Bar, NCCC Mall in Davao City.
The 2007 SMB Philippine 9-Ball Open is the joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports, in close cooperation with Philippine Billiard God Father Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer which offers a total pot prize Php1.35 million where the champion gets the lion's share of Php500,000.
Puyat Sports events manager Ish Caparras said that seeded in the main draw were two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
Meanwhile, action resumes this weekend, Aug. 25-26 at the Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall (Baguio City) before the last qualifying leg on Sept. 1-2 at the AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth ( Q.C).
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
The Bacolod City native Villanueva, who placed runner-up to eventual champion Jose "Amang" Parica in the 1993 RP 9-ball Open in Ninoy, Aquino Stadium, drew 'bye' in the first round, then subdued Warren Kiamco (7-6), Manolo Tanasas (7-5), Ronnie Aying (7-6), and Jarry Pelayo (7-5), respectively.
Cruz on the other hand, who hails from Nueva Ecija also drew 'bye' in the opener then trounced Edgardo Sibuco (7-6), Ranel Bayona (7-2), Jimmy Cheng (7-5), and Jose Drilon (7-2) to claim the first two slots in the two-day event (August 18-19) hosted by Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) president and Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) director Jonathan Sy.
Tournament favorites Roberto Gomez of Divisoria, Zamboanga and Jharome Pena of Marinduque nipped their respective opponents to secure the last two remaining slots in the loser's brackets, in this race-to-7, double elimination format to join Villanueva and Cruz in the Grand Finals on September 14-16. Gomez downed Drilon (7-5) while Pena edged Pelayo (7-5) in the one-loss side.
Before relegating in the loser's-side, Gomez bowed to Pelayo (7-4) in the fourth match of the winner's brackets while Pena yielded to Drilon (7-4).
In the first leg of this tournament, Ricky Zerna, Russian Petiza and Panfilo Damuag of Negros Billiard Stable and 2006 Kuwait 9-ball Open champion Jundel Mazon of Bronco Stable took the allotted four slots held at the Paeng's Skybowl, Robinson's Galleria in Mandaluyong City last August 4-5.
The top four finishers in the second leg last August 11-12 were Gandy Valle, Glendford Autor, Danny Otacan and NBS bet Jech-Jech Limen was held at the B3 Bowling Billiards and Bar, NCCC Mall in Davao City.
The 2007 SMB Philippine 9-Ball Open is the joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports, in close cooperation with Philippine Billiard God Father Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer which offers a total pot prize Php1.35 million where the champion gets the lion's share of Php500,000.
Puyat Sports events manager Ish Caparras said that seeded in the main draw were two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
Meanwhile, action resumes this weekend, Aug. 25-26 at the Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall (Baguio City) before the last qualifying leg on Sept. 1-2 at the AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth ( Q.C).
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Monday, August 20, 2007
CORTEZA WINS NY 9-BALL TILT
FILIPINO CORTEZA WINS NEW YORK 9-BALL TOUR; EARNS US$8,000
FILIPINO Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza turned back American Louie Ulrich 13-7, in the finals to win the top prize US$8,000 yesterday morning in the just concluded IX Turning Stone 9-Ball Tournament at the Turning Stone and Casino in Verona, New York.
Ulrich, top player of San Diego, California took US$5,300 for second place. Another Filipino, Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo, wound up in third place and got US$3,800.
The 28-year-old Corteza, top player of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) came out firing and cruised to a 12-2 lead over Ulrich. A scratch on the break by Corteza let Ulrich back into the game by running five straight racks to narrow the margin to five games at 12-7. Then it was Ulrich whose break deserted him as he came up dry. That was Ulrich's last shot as Corteza ran the last rack for the 13-7 win.
""Sabi sa akin ni Van-Van (Corteza) ay nakauna agad siya sa kanong nakalaban sa finals (Louie Ulrich) kaya hindi niya na pinakawalan ang pagkakataon na maiuwi ang titulo." Said Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) coach/ manager Christopher Palses yesterday.
Earlier, the native of Davao City Corteza trounced Redgie Cutler 9 – 6, Holden Chin 9 – 1, Mike Dechaine 9 – 6, Tony Chohan 9 – 3 and Tony Robles 9 – 2, before losing to compatriot Orcollo 9 – 6 in the sixth round of winner's brackets that put him in the loser's brackets.
Then Corteza beat Niels Feijen of the Netherlands 9 – 3, Ralf Souquet of Germany 9 – 5 and a rematch with Orcollo 9 – 2 to arrange a titular showdown with undefeated Ulrich and curve a 13 – 7 victory.
Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Orcollo, who lost to Ulrich 9-6 in the hot seat matche was booted out of this 128 player field after suffering his second loss to Corteza 9-2 in their rematch in the one-loss side that lasted twenty two minutes.
Other Filipinos who participated in this tournament were current double world champion Ronato Alcano, Jose "Amang" Parica, Al Lapena and Mhet Vergarra.
Corteza, is fresh from a runner-up finish to Feijen in the US$50,000 winner-take all International Challenge of Champion in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA. Last August 10-12.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Sunday, August 19, 2007
NEWS ON NY 9-BALL TOURNAMENT
CORTEZA, ORCOLLO STILL KICKING IN NY 9-BALL
FROM six Filipino competitors only two remained in contention in the ongoing IX Turning Stone Classic 9-Ball Tournament at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.
The four Filipino campaigners who were booted out in this 128 field, US$25,000 tournament are: double world champion Ronato Alcano, Jose "Amang" Parica, Al Lapena and Mhet Vergarra, after they suffered their second loss in the loser's bracket in this double elimination format that offers US$12,000 to the winner.
Alcano yielded to Neils Feijen of the Netherlands (9-7), while Parica bowed to Mike Davis of the United States (9-2), while Lapena lost to Eric Hjorliefson of Canada (9-8), and Vergarra succumbed to Mika Immonen of Finland (9-4).
Reigning national Open champion and All Japan Championships ruler Lee Vann Corteza and 2007 BCA Enjoypool.com champion Dennis Orcollo blasted their respective rivals to keep the Philippine’s hope alive in this annual event.
The 28-year-old Corteza, top player of Negros Billiard Stable crushed Tony Chohan of the United States (9-3) and Tony Robles of Mexico (9-2) while the 28-year-old Orcollo, a native of Bislig, Surigao del Sur beat Dennis Grau of the United States (9-7) and Ralf Souquet of Germany (9-3), in that order.
However, one of the Pinoy cue masters will have to be relegated to the loser's bracket because both Corteza and Orcollo are paired in the Winner's Side 2 bracket.
Meanwhile, Louis Ulrich of San Diego, California trounced Stevie Moore of Spartanburg, South Carolina (9-4) in the Winner's Side 1 to face Karen Corr of Ireland in the next round, winner over Jimmy Jusman of Indonesia (9-7). The top finisher in Winner's Side 1 will face top finisher of Winner's Side 2 for the hot seat match.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
FROM six Filipino competitors only two remained in contention in the ongoing IX Turning Stone Classic 9-Ball Tournament at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.
The four Filipino campaigners who were booted out in this 128 field, US$25,000 tournament are: double world champion Ronato Alcano, Jose "Amang" Parica, Al Lapena and Mhet Vergarra, after they suffered their second loss in the loser's bracket in this double elimination format that offers US$12,000 to the winner.
Alcano yielded to Neils Feijen of the Netherlands (9-7), while Parica bowed to Mike Davis of the United States (9-2), while Lapena lost to Eric Hjorliefson of Canada (9-8), and Vergarra succumbed to Mika Immonen of Finland (9-4).
Reigning national Open champion and All Japan Championships ruler Lee Vann Corteza and 2007 BCA Enjoypool.com champion Dennis Orcollo blasted their respective rivals to keep the Philippine’s hope alive in this annual event.
The 28-year-old Corteza, top player of Negros Billiard Stable crushed Tony Chohan of the United States (9-3) and Tony Robles of Mexico (9-2) while the 28-year-old Orcollo, a native of Bislig, Surigao del Sur beat Dennis Grau of the United States (9-7) and Ralf Souquet of Germany (9-3), in that order.
However, one of the Pinoy cue masters will have to be relegated to the loser's bracket because both Corteza and Orcollo are paired in the Winner's Side 2 bracket.
Meanwhile, Louis Ulrich of San Diego, California trounced Stevie Moore of Spartanburg, South Carolina (9-4) in the Winner's Side 1 to face Karen Corr of Ireland in the next round, winner over Jimmy Jusman of Indonesia (9-7). The top finisher in Winner's Side 1 will face top finisher of Winner's Side 2 for the hot seat match.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Friday, August 17, 2007
NEWS ON SMB 9-BALL BACOLOD LEG AND NY 9-BALL TILT
WORLD CHAMP BATA REYES OPENS
SMB RP 9-BALL OPEN BACOLOD LEG TODAY
NO less than pool maestro Efren "Bata" Reyes, Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) president and Billiard and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) director Jonathan Sy and Negros Occidental Billiard and Snooker Association (NOBSA) president Allan Gaston will do the ceremonial lag when the third leg of 4TH annual SMB RP 9-Ball Open unfolds today, Saturday (August 18 to 19) at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar in Negros Occidental in Bacolod City.
NBS coach/ manager Christopher Palses lauded Reyes for his presence in the said affair as he believes this will a boost for Philippine Billiards in the Visayas.
"Malaking tulong ang pagdalo ni Efren (Bata Reyes) sa SMB RP 9-ball Open dito sa Bacolod," said Palses in a long distance interview with this writer yesterday.
"Hindi naman kaila sa lahat kung gaano naging popular ang bilyar sa bansa at nakilala ang Pilipinas sa pandaigdigang torneo dahil na din sa mga tagumpay na hatid ni Reyes na tinaguriang Filipino pool icon." He was referring Reyes’ triumph, the first Filipino world 9-ball champion in Cardiff,Wales England in 1999.
According to Palses, they expect at least 40 participants in Bacolod to surpass the 20 player's field in the second leg held in Davao City last week.
Palses also lauded the undying support of RP billiard patron Aristeo "Putch" Puyat and Bugsy Promotion honcho Perry Mariano sent his players to participate in the qualification tournament which offers four allotted slots to advance in the Grand Finale on September 14 to 16.
Puyat sent Reyes and the country's top 3 national women's players Rubilen Amit, Iris Ranola and Mary-Ann Basas to participate in the race-to-7, 9-ball tournament. Mariano on the other hand sent Roberto Gomez and Jharome Pena to add spice in the event – a joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer.
Meanwhile, NBS players seeing action this weekend here in Bacolod leg are Roberto "Bert Pasay" Dy, Jomel "Smiling Face" Sultan, Noel "Weng-Weng" Caro and newly installed NBS member Cebuano ace Warren "Warrior" Kiamco.
It shall be recalled that Ricky "Bai" Zerna, Russian "The Dynamite" Petiza and Panfilo "Abu" Lintok"Damuag already gained slots in the Grand Finals on September 14-16 after finishing 1-2-3 in the first leg at the Paeng's Skybowl in Robinson's Galleria, which drew 51 players.
Jech-Jech "Lemon" Limen who made it to the top four last Sunday in the 2nd leg at the B3 Bowling Billiards and Bar, NCCC Mall in Davao City, also moved on to the finals.
Meanwhile, the fourth leg is schedule on Aug. 25-26 at the Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall in Baguio City. The qualifying rounds will end on Sept. 1-2 at the AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth in Quezon City.
PARICA, ORCOLLO: HOT START IN NY 9-BALL TILT
FILIPINOS Jose "Amang" Parica and Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo lived up to their billing yesterday, beating their respective rivals at the start of the IX Turning Stone Classic 9-Ball Tournament at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.
The US$25,000 event drew 128 players according to tournament organizer Mike Zuglan where the champion takes home the top prize of US$12,000.
Parica on the other hand, acknowledged the leader of Filipino invasion in the US in the mid 80's, routed Pete Kramer, 9-1, in the Winner's side 1 bracket, while Orcollo, known to be the Philippine Billiards Money game king, trounced Ron Casanzio in a similar, 9-1, victory in Winner's side 2.
Parica's next opponent is Dick Cappotto, who beat Steve Murphy, 9-5, while Orcollo takes on Canadian based Pinoy Al Lapena, who defeated Frank Harris, 9-2.
Another Filipino entry, current double world champion Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, thwarted Tony Ruberto, 9-5, will slug-it out with Ignacio Chavez, a 9-5 winner over Chris Lynch.
Unfortunately, the main draw does not look good because of a possible confrontation between Parica and Alcano in the third round if both of them do-away with their respective opponents.
Reigning National Championship winner and All Japan Championships ruler Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza also won his match against Redgie Cutler, 9-6.
The 28-year-old Corteza who hails from Davao City, a top player of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) will next face Holdin Chin, who blasted Pete Comali, 9-0. Corteza is fresh from a runner-up finish to eventual champion Neil "The Terminator" Feijen of the Netherlands in the 2007 International Challenge of Champion US$50,000 winner-take all at the Mohegan Sun's Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, last August 9 to 10.
Feijen, the European No.1 player today is looking for his third straight title in a row here in Turning Stone by demolishing Bill Dunsmore, 9-2, to meet Dave Fernandez, who brought down New York based Pinoy Mhet Vergarra, 9-7, the only Filipino casualty in the first round.
Feijen also ruled the 2007 Blaze 9-Ball Tour Stop last August 12 at the Skyline billiards in Brooklyn, New York.
Other notable winners include league organizer Mike Zuglan and 2007 Predator World 8-ball champion 22-years-old Shane Van Boening of the United States, European women's No.1 player Jasmin Ouschan of Austria, Korean top ace Shin Young-park, Tony Robles of Mexico, John Morra of Canada and former world 9-ball champions Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany and Mika Immonen of Finland.
(Reports from MARLON BERNARDINO).
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
TROY DANAO AND OTHER NBS BETS EYE FINALS SLOT IN SMB RP 9-BALL OPEN IN BACOLOD LEG THIS WEEKEND
TROY DANAO and the rest of the Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) are eyeing the allotted four slots in the Grnad Finale when the third leg goes to Bacolod this weekend (August 18 to 19) at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar which co-owned no less than NBS president Jonathan Sy.
"Talagang pinaghandaan ko itong Bacolod leg, sa abot ng aking makakaya ay makakapasok na din ako sa Grand Finale" said Danao, a native of Bacolod City and fondly called "Guwapito" in the pool world because of his handsome face.
Other members of NBS who will see action this weekend are Roberto "Bert Pasay" Dy, Jomel "Smiling Face" Sultan, Noel "Weng-Weng" Caro and newly installed NBS member Cebuano ace, Warren "Warrior" Kiamco.
"Sana may NBS na naman na makapasok sa Grand Finale" added NBS coach/ manager Christopher Palses.
Ricky "Bai" Zerna, Russian "The Dynamite" Petiza and Panfilo "Abu" Lintok"Damuag of NBS have already advanced to the Grand Finals of this tournament on September 14-16 after garnering a 1-2-3 finish in the first leg at the Paeng's Skybowl in Robinson's Galleria.
Jech-Jech "Lemon" Limen, another NBS bet has made it to the top four in last Sunday’s 2nd leg at the B3 Bowling Billiards and Bar, NCCC Mall in Davao City.
Expected to give the NBS cue artists a good fight are Roberto Gomez and Jharome Pena of Bugsy Promotions, and members of the national women's squad composed of Rubilen Amit, Irish Rañola and Mary-Ann Basas.
Meanwhile, the fourth leg is schedule on Aug. 25-26 at the Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall in Baguio City and the last qualifying leg will be on Sept. 1-2 at the AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth in Quezon City.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
"Talagang pinaghandaan ko itong Bacolod leg, sa abot ng aking makakaya ay makakapasok na din ako sa Grand Finale" said Danao, a native of Bacolod City and fondly called "Guwapito" in the pool world because of his handsome face.
Other members of NBS who will see action this weekend are Roberto "Bert Pasay" Dy, Jomel "Smiling Face" Sultan, Noel "Weng-Weng" Caro and newly installed NBS member Cebuano ace, Warren "Warrior" Kiamco.
"Sana may NBS na naman na makapasok sa Grand Finale" added NBS coach/ manager Christopher Palses.
Ricky "Bai" Zerna, Russian "The Dynamite" Petiza and Panfilo "Abu" Lintok"Damuag of NBS have already advanced to the Grand Finals of this tournament on September 14-16 after garnering a 1-2-3 finish in the first leg at the Paeng's Skybowl in Robinson's Galleria.
Jech-Jech "Lemon" Limen, another NBS bet has made it to the top four in last Sunday’s 2nd leg at the B3 Bowling Billiards and Bar, NCCC Mall in Davao City.
Expected to give the NBS cue artists a good fight are Roberto Gomez and Jharome Pena of Bugsy Promotions, and members of the national women's squad composed of Rubilen Amit, Irish Rañola and Mary-Ann Basas.
Meanwhile, the fourth leg is schedule on Aug. 25-26 at the Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall in Baguio City and the last qualifying leg will be on Sept. 1-2 at the AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth in Quezon City.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
REGISTRATION STARTS FOR WORLD POOL QUALIFIERS
THE Registration for the qualifying tournament tournament of the 2007 World Pool Championship gets underway for both Filipino and foreign players, This was announced by Raya Sports executive director JP Fenix.
The Qualifying Tournament is scheduled over five days, from October 27 to 31, 2007. Ten qualifying events will be held, with two games each day, divided into morning and afternoon sessions.
Tournament Venue
The Qualifying Tournament will be held at the Star Billiards Center located at Joy Street, Grace Village, Quezon City, Philippines , with the following contact numbers: (632)3646041 and (632)3678888. The facility features all- Brunswick tables conforming to specifications of the WPC and Aramith professional balls.
The Star Billiards Center will be open from 8 am to 10 pm daily to all players one week before the start of competitions.
Registration of players for the qualifiers will be held at the Billiards Zone, Rizal Memorial Complex, Manila . Deadline for registration and payment of entry
fee is 12noon, Friday, October 26, 2007.
Transportation to Venue
To ensure transport to qualifier venue, foreign players will be picked up by coaster and bus from either (1) their hotels if these are in the WPC vicinity map; or (2) the Rizal Memorial Billiards Center. Time of pick-up: 7:30 am for morning session; 12 pm for afternoon session.
Filipino players in the qualifiers will be picked up at the Rizal Memorial Billiards Center. Time of pick-up: 7:30 am for morning session; 12 pm for afternoon session.
Schedule of Qualifiers
Ten (10) qualifying events are scheduled, starting from Saturday, October 27. There will be two qualifiers per day. The winner of each qualifier will enter the 128-man main draw of the WPC. Beyond 10 slots, the players who accumulate the most points from playing in five events will be designated as 'reserves.'
The complete schedule is as follows:
Saturday, October 27 Events 1 & 2
Sunday, October 28 Events 3 & 4
Monday, October 29 Events 5 & 6
Tuesday, October 30 Events 7 & 8
Wednesday, October 31 Events 9 & 10
Entry Fee
The Entry Fee for a single event is $100 or Php4,600.
The Entry Fee for five events is $400 or Php18,400.
Players are allowed to play only in one tournament per
day. Players signing up for the full tournament
package WILL BE GUARANTEED ENTRY TO FIVE EVENTS.
Selection of which event to enter will be on a
first-come, first-served basis. Prepaid single event
entrants and casual players may be accepted, subject
to spaces being available.
The deadline for entries is 12noon, Friday, October 26,
2007, although entries will still be accepted the day before
each event if the field falls short of 64 players.
Players are requested to fill up the WPC entry form and Fax it to
(632)8909666 . After entry form is received, Raya will
email a confirmation receipt. You can check the
status of your entry on the WPC Philippines website:
www.rayasports.com or www.pooliscool.com .
Prizes
The ten winners of the qualifiers will be entered into
a predetermined place in the group draw for the last
128 of the World Pool Championship, which starts on
Saturday, November 3, 2007, in Manila.
Each winner will receive prize money based on the
daily entrant level. Players who place from 2nd to 4th
in each qualifier will get their entry fee back.
Prizes will be paid in cash or check.
Players who pay for the full tournament package and
are able to qualify without exhausting all their entry
privileges will be entitled to a refund of their
unused entries.
Tournament Format
The tournament format for the qualifiers is single
elimination, race to 7, alternate break. The finals
will be race to 9 with alternate break.
The points system will operate as follows:
ï‚· Runner-up 10 pts.
ï‚· 3rd - 4th 5 pts.
ï‚· 5th - 8th 3 pts.
ï‚· 9th - 16th 1 pt.
The player with the most points will be the first
reserve in the event of more spots becoming available.
The next reserves will be those garnering the most
points in descending order.
General Rules
The Dress Code is informal but players are requested
to maintain a smart appearance no headwear,
sleeveless shirts, or short pants.
Players are enjoined and expected to play the
qualifying matches in a fair and sportsmanlike way.
Any dispute must be referred to the Duty Referee (one
for every three tables) or the Tournament Control
Desk..
Check-In Times for each event are as follows:
Saturday, Oct. 27 Event 1 @ 08:30 am Event 2 @ 13:00
pm
Sunday, Oct. 28 Event 3 @ 08:30 am Event 4 @ 13:00 pm
Monday, Oct. 29 Event 5 @ 08:30 am Event 6 @ 13:00 pm
Tuesday, Oct. 30 Event 7 @ 08:30 am Event 8 @ 13:00 pm
Wednesday, Oct. 31 Event 9 @ 08:30 am Event 10 @ 13:00
pm
When players are called by the Control Desk, they must
report within five minutes. Failure to do so will
incur a one-rack forfeit. After a further five minutes
they will lose a further rack and then five minutes
later they will forfeit the match.
No timeouts are allowed, but a player may take one
toilet break. They may only leave the table at the end
of a rack that they have won. This break should be as
brief as possible. Should you require a further break
during the match then you must obtain permission from
the Duty Referee or the Control Desk. Failure to
observe these rules will mean FORFEIT of the next rack
with the break passing back to the opponent.
All matches are lag for break/alternate breaks
thereafter.
Players can only use the cues that they bring to the
table before their match commences. Jump cues (minimum
1 mtr. long) and break cues may be used but they must
be with you when you first come to the table.
Scorecards must be completed and signed by both
players. It is the responsibility of the winning
player to ensure that the result is recorded at the
Control Desk.
Accommodation in Manila
Raya Sports can assist in booking hotel reservations
for all players. For further information, log into:
www.rayasports.com or www.pooliscool.com
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO).
The Qualifying Tournament is scheduled over five days, from October 27 to 31, 2007. Ten qualifying events will be held, with two games each day, divided into morning and afternoon sessions.
Tournament Venue
The Qualifying Tournament will be held at the Star Billiards Center located at Joy Street, Grace Village, Quezon City, Philippines , with the following contact numbers: (632)3646041 and (632)3678888. The facility features all- Brunswick tables conforming to specifications of the WPC and Aramith professional balls.
The Star Billiards Center will be open from 8 am to 10 pm daily to all players one week before the start of competitions.
Registration of players for the qualifiers will be held at the Billiards Zone, Rizal Memorial Complex, Manila . Deadline for registration and payment of entry
fee is 12noon, Friday, October 26, 2007.
Transportation to Venue
To ensure transport to qualifier venue, foreign players will be picked up by coaster and bus from either (1) their hotels if these are in the WPC vicinity map; or (2) the Rizal Memorial Billiards Center. Time of pick-up: 7:30 am for morning session; 12 pm for afternoon session.
Filipino players in the qualifiers will be picked up at the Rizal Memorial Billiards Center. Time of pick-up: 7:30 am for morning session; 12 pm for afternoon session.
Schedule of Qualifiers
Ten (10) qualifying events are scheduled, starting from Saturday, October 27. There will be two qualifiers per day. The winner of each qualifier will enter the 128-man main draw of the WPC. Beyond 10 slots, the players who accumulate the most points from playing in five events will be designated as 'reserves.'
The complete schedule is as follows:
Saturday, October 27 Events 1 & 2
Sunday, October 28 Events 3 & 4
Monday, October 29 Events 5 & 6
Tuesday, October 30 Events 7 & 8
Wednesday, October 31 Events 9 & 10
Entry Fee
The Entry Fee for a single event is $100 or Php4,600.
The Entry Fee for five events is $400 or Php18,400.
Players are allowed to play only in one tournament per
day. Players signing up for the full tournament
package WILL BE GUARANTEED ENTRY TO FIVE EVENTS.
Selection of which event to enter will be on a
first-come, first-served basis. Prepaid single event
entrants and casual players may be accepted, subject
to spaces being available.
The deadline for entries is 12noon, Friday, October 26,
2007, although entries will still be accepted the day before
each event if the field falls short of 64 players.
Players are requested to fill up the WPC entry form and Fax it to
(632)8909666 . After entry form is received, Raya will
email a confirmation receipt. You can check the
status of your entry on the WPC Philippines website:
www.rayasports.com or www.pooliscool.com .
Prizes
The ten winners of the qualifiers will be entered into
a predetermined place in the group draw for the last
128 of the World Pool Championship, which starts on
Saturday, November 3, 2007, in Manila.
Each winner will receive prize money based on the
daily entrant level. Players who place from 2nd to 4th
in each qualifier will get their entry fee back.
Prizes will be paid in cash or check.
Players who pay for the full tournament package and
are able to qualify without exhausting all their entry
privileges will be entitled to a refund of their
unused entries.
Tournament Format
The tournament format for the qualifiers is single
elimination, race to 7, alternate break. The finals
will be race to 9 with alternate break.
The points system will operate as follows:
ï‚· Runner-up 10 pts.
ï‚· 3rd - 4th 5 pts.
ï‚· 5th - 8th 3 pts.
ï‚· 9th - 16th 1 pt.
The player with the most points will be the first
reserve in the event of more spots becoming available.
The next reserves will be those garnering the most
points in descending order.
General Rules
The Dress Code is informal but players are requested
to maintain a smart appearance no headwear,
sleeveless shirts, or short pants.
Players are enjoined and expected to play the
qualifying matches in a fair and sportsmanlike way.
Any dispute must be referred to the Duty Referee (one
for every three tables) or the Tournament Control
Desk..
Check-In Times for each event are as follows:
Saturday, Oct. 27 Event 1 @ 08:30 am Event 2 @ 13:00
pm
Sunday, Oct. 28 Event 3 @ 08:30 am Event 4 @ 13:00 pm
Monday, Oct. 29 Event 5 @ 08:30 am Event 6 @ 13:00 pm
Tuesday, Oct. 30 Event 7 @ 08:30 am Event 8 @ 13:00 pm
Wednesday, Oct. 31 Event 9 @ 08:30 am Event 10 @ 13:00
pm
When players are called by the Control Desk, they must
report within five minutes. Failure to do so will
incur a one-rack forfeit. After a further five minutes
they will lose a further rack and then five minutes
later they will forfeit the match.
No timeouts are allowed, but a player may take one
toilet break. They may only leave the table at the end
of a rack that they have won. This break should be as
brief as possible. Should you require a further break
during the match then you must obtain permission from
the Duty Referee or the Control Desk. Failure to
observe these rules will mean FORFEIT of the next rack
with the break passing back to the opponent.
All matches are lag for break/alternate breaks
thereafter.
Players can only use the cues that they bring to the
table before their match commences. Jump cues (minimum
1 mtr. long) and break cues may be used but they must
be with you when you first come to the table.
Scorecards must be completed and signed by both
players. It is the responsibility of the winning
player to ensure that the result is recorded at the
Control Desk.
Accommodation in Manila
Raya Sports can assist in booking hotel reservations
for all players. For further information, log into:
www.rayasports.com or www.pooliscool.com
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO).
ALCANO, CORTEZA LEAD RP BETS IN NEW YORK 9-BALL TODAY
NINE-BALL action returns to New York when current double world champion Ronato "Volcano" Alcano and reigning national open champion Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza meets the challenge from a tough field for the 2007 Turning Stone 9-Ball Open tournament which unreels today, August 16-19 at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York.
Tournament organizer Mike Zuglan said to this writer through email that the champion will take home the top prize of US$12,000.
The 28-year-old Corteza who hails from Davao City, playing under the banner of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS), is fresh from a runner-up finish to eventual champion Neils "The Terminator" Fejien of the Netherlands in the 2007 International Challenge of Champions' US$50,000 winner take all last August 9-10 in Mohegan Suns Casino in Unscaville, Connecticut, USA.
In fact, Corteza almost came close to winning the whopping prize of US$50,000 after taking the first match against Feijen, 5-1, however the game was tied at 3 all in the 2 nd match, Corteza missed the No.8 ball in the seventh frame allowing Feijen to claim the next two racks for a close 5-3 victory and forge a sudden death one rack tie breaker.
Feijen, proved that he is the No.1 European player today after winning the lag and didn't gave Corteza the chance to comeback the table by cleaning up to claim the victory (1-5), (5-3), (1).
The 34-year-old Alcano on the other hand, member of the star-studded Bugsy Promotion was ousted in Day One against former world 9-ball kingpin Thorsten "The Hitmann" Hohman of Germany in the International Challenge of Champions.
Other Filipino players who is expected to play in the annual Turning Stone 9-ball Open that includes 2007 BCA Enjoypool.com 9-ball winner Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo and New Yorkers Santos "The Saint" Sambajon and Emet Vergara, Canadian based Pinoy Al Lapena and California resident Jose "Amang" Parica.
Meanwhile, Corteza and Alcano, are also scheduled to carry the country's color's when the Grand Finale of the 2007 Guinness 9-ball tour gets going on August 31 to September 2 in Bali, Indonesia, here the Grand Champion get the top prize of US$36,000.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Tournament organizer Mike Zuglan said to this writer through email that the champion will take home the top prize of US$12,000.
The 28-year-old Corteza who hails from Davao City, playing under the banner of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS), is fresh from a runner-up finish to eventual champion Neils "The Terminator" Fejien of the Netherlands in the 2007 International Challenge of Champions' US$50,000 winner take all last August 9-10 in Mohegan Suns Casino in Unscaville, Connecticut, USA.
In fact, Corteza almost came close to winning the whopping prize of US$50,000 after taking the first match against Feijen, 5-1, however the game was tied at 3 all in the 2 nd match, Corteza missed the No.8 ball in the seventh frame allowing Feijen to claim the next two racks for a close 5-3 victory and forge a sudden death one rack tie breaker.
Feijen, proved that he is the No.1 European player today after winning the lag and didn't gave Corteza the chance to comeback the table by cleaning up to claim the victory (1-5), (5-3), (1).
The 34-year-old Alcano on the other hand, member of the star-studded Bugsy Promotion was ousted in Day One against former world 9-ball kingpin Thorsten "The Hitmann" Hohman of Germany in the International Challenge of Champions.
Other Filipino players who is expected to play in the annual Turning Stone 9-ball Open that includes 2007 BCA Enjoypool.com 9-ball winner Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo and New Yorkers Santos "The Saint" Sambajon and Emet Vergara, Canadian based Pinoy Al Lapena and California resident Jose "Amang" Parica.
Meanwhile, Corteza and Alcano, are also scheduled to carry the country's color's when the Grand Finale of the 2007 Guinness 9-ball tour gets going on August 31 to September 2 in Bali, Indonesia, here the Grand Champion get the top prize of US$36,000.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
RUBILEN AMIT IS SEMI-FINALIST IN PRO WOMEN'S INVITATIONAL IN TAIWAN
RUBILEN AMIT EARNS 40,000 TAIWANESE DOLLARS IN TAIWAN 9-BALL TILT AS KOREAN GA YOUNG KIM WINS
FILIPINA Rubilen "Bingkay" Amit, the 2005 Manila Southeast Asian Games 9-ball and 8-ball gold medal almost won the Taiwan 9-Ball Tournament yesterday.
The 25-year-old Amit is a top women’s player under the Puyat Sports organization, bowed to Shin Mei-liu of Taiwan, the 2006 Doha Asian Games 9-ball gold medalist (9-6) in the final four yesterday. The tournament was held in Tao-Yuan Mall in Taiwan.
Eventual winner Ga-Young-kim of Korea trounced another Taiwanese bet Chieh Yu-chou (9-4) in the other semi-final match to arrange a titular showdown with Liu.
Despite the home court advantage, Kim crushed Liu (9-5) yesterday to bag the championship trophy and the top prize of 100,000 Taiwanese Dollars in the event dubbed as Pro Women's Invitational 9-ball. Liu settled runner-up with 60,000 Taiwanese Dollars.
Losing-Semi-finalist Amit and Chou, each received 40,000 Taiwanese Dollars for their effort.
"She (Liu) played very well, the game was tied at 6 all, but Liu clustered the next three remaining racks." The Taguig resident Amit said in an exclusive interview with this writer yesterday referring her semi-final loss to Liu.
In fact, Liu was hot in the opening match taking a 3-0 commanding lead before Amit manage to tie the game at 3-all. Amit added that the following racks were so close at 3 all, 4 all and 6 all, before Liu broke away and won the match at 9-6.
Amit earlier topped the Group D bracket with a similar 9-8 decision wins against I-Yun Su and Hui-Shan Lai of Taiwan to advance in the final four according to Puyat Sports event manager Ish Caparras.
It shall be recalled that the former Makati Call Center employee turned professional pool player lost to eventual winner Xiao Ting-pan of China for this year's Women's World 9-ball crown last April 5 to 8 in Tao-Yuan, Taiwan. In this event, Amit received runner-up prize worth US$10,000 and a ticket in the upcoming SEAG in Thailand later this year according to Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP).
National women's coach Edgard "Boyet" Asonto revealed yesterday that Amit’s next stop is the 3rd leg of 4th annual SMB RP 9-Ball Open this weekend (Aug. 18-19) at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar in Bacolod City. The venue for this tournament is co-owned by Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) president Jonathan Sy. National women's team mates Iris Rañola of Zamboanga City and Mary-Ann Basas of Davao City are also competing in the annual SMB RP 9-Ball Open event.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
FILIPINA Rubilen "Bingkay" Amit, the 2005 Manila Southeast Asian Games 9-ball and 8-ball gold medal almost won the Taiwan 9-Ball Tournament yesterday.
The 25-year-old Amit is a top women’s player under the Puyat Sports organization, bowed to Shin Mei-liu of Taiwan, the 2006 Doha Asian Games 9-ball gold medalist (9-6) in the final four yesterday. The tournament was held in Tao-Yuan Mall in Taiwan.
Eventual winner Ga-Young-kim of Korea trounced another Taiwanese bet Chieh Yu-chou (9-4) in the other semi-final match to arrange a titular showdown with Liu.
Despite the home court advantage, Kim crushed Liu (9-5) yesterday to bag the championship trophy and the top prize of 100,000 Taiwanese Dollars in the event dubbed as Pro Women's Invitational 9-ball. Liu settled runner-up with 60,000 Taiwanese Dollars.
Losing-Semi-finalist Amit and Chou, each received 40,000 Taiwanese Dollars for their effort.
"She (Liu) played very well, the game was tied at 6 all, but Liu clustered the next three remaining racks." The Taguig resident Amit said in an exclusive interview with this writer yesterday referring her semi-final loss to Liu.
In fact, Liu was hot in the opening match taking a 3-0 commanding lead before Amit manage to tie the game at 3-all. Amit added that the following racks were so close at 3 all, 4 all and 6 all, before Liu broke away and won the match at 9-6.
Amit earlier topped the Group D bracket with a similar 9-8 decision wins against I-Yun Su and Hui-Shan Lai of Taiwan to advance in the final four according to Puyat Sports event manager Ish Caparras.
It shall be recalled that the former Makati Call Center employee turned professional pool player lost to eventual winner Xiao Ting-pan of China for this year's Women's World 9-ball crown last April 5 to 8 in Tao-Yuan, Taiwan. In this event, Amit received runner-up prize worth US$10,000 and a ticket in the upcoming SEAG in Thailand later this year according to Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP).
National women's coach Edgard "Boyet" Asonto revealed yesterday that Amit’s next stop is the 3rd leg of 4th annual SMB RP 9-Ball Open this weekend (Aug. 18-19) at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar in Bacolod City. The venue for this tournament is co-owned by Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) president Jonathan Sy. National women's team mates Iris Rañola of Zamboanga City and Mary-Ann Basas of Davao City are also competing in the annual SMB RP 9-Ball Open event.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Monday, August 13, 2007
VALLE, AUTOR DOMINATES SMB 9-BALL OPEN, DAVAO LEG
GANDY Valle and Glendford Autor hurdled their respective rivals to finish undefeated in this 20 man-field of the 4th annual San Miguel Beer Philippine 9-ball Open late Sunday at the B3 Bowling Billiards and Bar, NCCC Mall in Davao City. This tournament circuit has just concluded its second leg.
Valle, who teamed up with Romeo "Snooky" Villanueva to bag the gold medal in the 9-ball doubles tournament in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, trounced Danny Otacan (7-6) while Autor surprised Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) bet Jech-Jech Limen (7-6) in the winner's bracket to grab the first two slots in the Grand Finale on September 14 to 16.
Earlier, Valle, a member of the star-studded Bugsy Promotion contingent nipped Reymar Naraiso (7-5), Bernard Pague (7-3) before relegating Otacan in the loser's bracket while Autor blanked Bienvenido Soliman (7-0), Demosthenes Pulpul (7-5) and then edged Limen (7-6).
Otacan and Lemen frustrated their respective opponents to secure the last two remaining slots in the loser's brackets, in this race-to-7, double elimination format. Interestingly, Valle, Autor and Otacan are the pride of host Davao City.
In the first leg, Ricky Zerna, Russian Petiza and Panfilo Damuag of Negros Billiard Stable and 2006 Kuwait 9-ball Open champion Jundel Mazon of Bronco Stable took the allotted four slots held at the Paeng's Skybowl, Robinson's Galleria in Mandaluyong City.
The 2007 SMB Philippine 9-Ball Open is the joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports, in close cooperation with Philippine Billiard God Father Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer which offers a total pot prize Php1.35 million where the champion gets the lion’s share of Php500,000.
Puyat Sports events manager Ish Caparras said that seeded in the main draw were two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
Meanwhile, action resumes this weekend, Aug. 18-19 at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar in Bacolod City, then followed on Aug. 25-26 at the Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall (Baguio City) and will end on Sept. 1-2 at the AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth (Q.C).
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Valle, who teamed up with Romeo "Snooky" Villanueva to bag the gold medal in the 9-ball doubles tournament in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, trounced Danny Otacan (7-6) while Autor surprised Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) bet Jech-Jech Limen (7-6) in the winner's bracket to grab the first two slots in the Grand Finale on September 14 to 16.
Earlier, Valle, a member of the star-studded Bugsy Promotion contingent nipped Reymar Naraiso (7-5), Bernard Pague (7-3) before relegating Otacan in the loser's bracket while Autor blanked Bienvenido Soliman (7-0), Demosthenes Pulpul (7-5) and then edged Limen (7-6).
Otacan and Lemen frustrated their respective opponents to secure the last two remaining slots in the loser's brackets, in this race-to-7, double elimination format. Interestingly, Valle, Autor and Otacan are the pride of host Davao City.
In the first leg, Ricky Zerna, Russian Petiza and Panfilo Damuag of Negros Billiard Stable and 2006 Kuwait 9-ball Open champion Jundel Mazon of Bronco Stable took the allotted four slots held at the Paeng's Skybowl, Robinson's Galleria in Mandaluyong City.
The 2007 SMB Philippine 9-Ball Open is the joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports, in close cooperation with Philippine Billiard God Father Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer which offers a total pot prize Php1.35 million where the champion gets the lion’s share of Php500,000.
Puyat Sports events manager Ish Caparras said that seeded in the main draw were two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
Meanwhile, action resumes this weekend, Aug. 18-19 at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar in Bacolod City, then followed on Aug. 25-26 at the Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall (Baguio City) and will end on Sept. 1-2 at the AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth (Q.C).
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Sunday, August 12, 2007
JOVEN BUSTAMANTE BEATS GODOFREDO DUCANES FOR THE WPC SLOT
QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES---BUGSY PROMOTION stalwart Joven "The Shark" Bustamante defeated Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) bet Godofredo "Boy Cotabato" Ducanes, 13-11, in their special 9-ball playoff Saturday night here at the Star Billiards Center in Joy. St, Grace Village, Quezon City.
Thus, the 28-year-old Joven, a distant relative of former world No.1 Francisco "Django" Bustamante, earned the right to play in the World Pool Championships this November, according to BSCP chairman and Raya Sports President Yen Makabenta.
Aside from Makabenta, other witnesses to the play-off game were BSCP president Ernie Fajardo, BSCP treasurer and Brunswick Philippines distributor Sebastian Chua, Perry and Verna Mariano of Bugsy Promotion, Negros Billiard Stable president Jonathan Sy, NBS coach/manager Christopher Palses and professional photographer Ferdinand Arquero, among others.
Filipino Dennis Orcollo who won the 2007 BCA Enjoypool.com in Las Vegas, Nevada gained for Orcollo the outright berth at the World Pool Championships on November 3 to 11 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City. Because of this win, Orcollo, who was ranked 6th in the 2nd BSCP National Pool Championships, opened a slot at the WPC to be disputed between the 7th and 8th ranked players namely Joven and Godofredo, respectively, according to World 9-ball organizer Makabenta.
Joven, the 2007 Fujairah World 8-ball semi-finalist in United Arab Emirates needed two and half hours to defeat the 52-year-old Ducanes in their race-to-13, alternate break format.
"It is my dream to make it to the main draw of the WPC" said the 2004 Abu Dhabi 8-ball champion fondly called "The Shark" or "The Giant" in the pool world.
Joven surged to a 5-2 commanding lead after Ducanes scratched in the first rack, then followed an 8-4 comfortable lead before taking a close 13-11 match victory.
"Actually, I'm just lucky" added Joven, a member of the star-studded Bugsy Promotion, who is fresh from winning the 2007 4th Annual KIA Motors Korea International Championships in South, Korea recently.
In the Korean 9-ball Open, Joven beat fellow Bugsy ace Carlo "Cool" Biado (7-2) in the semis then subdued Japanese Go Takami (7-3) in the finals to pocket the top prize US$7,000.
According to Joven, a regimen in preparing for his local and international competitions is doing 50 racks a day in the Bugsy's Lair Billiard Hall in Sgt. Esguerra in Quezon City.
Aside from Joven and Django Bustamante, other seeded Filipino players in the main draw of prestigious World Pool Championships are reigning champ Ronato Alcano, 1999 Cardiff WPC ruler Efren "Bata" Reyes, 2004 Taiwan WPC winner Alex Pagulayan, Lee Vann Corteza, Marlon Manalo, Antonio Lining, Rodolfo Luat, Ramil Gallego and Jeffrey de Luna.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Thus, the 28-year-old Joven, a distant relative of former world No.1 Francisco "Django" Bustamante, earned the right to play in the World Pool Championships this November, according to BSCP chairman and Raya Sports President Yen Makabenta.
Aside from Makabenta, other witnesses to the play-off game were BSCP president Ernie Fajardo, BSCP treasurer and Brunswick Philippines distributor Sebastian Chua, Perry and Verna Mariano of Bugsy Promotion, Negros Billiard Stable president Jonathan Sy, NBS coach/manager Christopher Palses and professional photographer Ferdinand Arquero, among others.
Filipino Dennis Orcollo who won the 2007 BCA Enjoypool.com in Las Vegas, Nevada gained for Orcollo the outright berth at the World Pool Championships on November 3 to 11 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City. Because of this win, Orcollo, who was ranked 6th in the 2nd BSCP National Pool Championships, opened a slot at the WPC to be disputed between the 7th and 8th ranked players namely Joven and Godofredo, respectively, according to World 9-ball organizer Makabenta.
Joven, the 2007 Fujairah World 8-ball semi-finalist in United Arab Emirates needed two and half hours to defeat the 52-year-old Ducanes in their race-to-13, alternate break format.
"It is my dream to make it to the main draw of the WPC" said the 2004 Abu Dhabi 8-ball champion fondly called "The Shark" or "The Giant" in the pool world.
Joven surged to a 5-2 commanding lead after Ducanes scratched in the first rack, then followed an 8-4 comfortable lead before taking a close 13-11 match victory.
"Actually, I'm just lucky" added Joven, a member of the star-studded Bugsy Promotion, who is fresh from winning the 2007 4th Annual KIA Motors Korea International Championships in South, Korea recently.
In the Korean 9-ball Open, Joven beat fellow Bugsy ace Carlo "Cool" Biado (7-2) in the semis then subdued Japanese Go Takami (7-3) in the finals to pocket the top prize US$7,000.
According to Joven, a regimen in preparing for his local and international competitions is doing 50 racks a day in the Bugsy's Lair Billiard Hall in Sgt. Esguerra in Quezon City.
Aside from Joven and Django Bustamante, other seeded Filipino players in the main draw of prestigious World Pool Championships are reigning champ Ronato Alcano, 1999 Cardiff WPC ruler Efren "Bata" Reyes, 2004 Taiwan WPC winner Alex Pagulayan, Lee Vann Corteza, Marlon Manalo, Antonio Lining, Rodolfo Luat, Ramil Gallego and Jeffrey de Luna.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Friday, August 10, 2007
CORTEZA LOSES TO FEIJEN, + SMB 9-BALL, + BENJIE GUEVARRA
FEIJEN BEATS CORTEZA WINS US$50,000
IN INT'L CHALLENGE OF CHAMPIONS
NEILS "The Terminator" Feijen of the Netherlands wins this year's International Challenge of Champions taking home the top prize of US$50,000 for his effort.
Feijen, the European No.1 player beat reigning national open champion and all Japan championship ruler Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, (1-5), (5-3), (1) in the finals via a one rack tie breaker yesterday morning at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
Actually, the 28-year-old Davao City native playing under the banner of Negros Billiard Stable won the first match with a tremendous 5-1 victory. However, Feijen, winner of the Derby City Classic 9-ball event, took the 2nd match with a 5-3 victory to force a 1-rack sudden death play off. Feijen won the opening lag and run-out the match.
" Sayang kinapos na naman si Van-Van (Corteza), sabi niya ay na mintis niya ang 8-ball sa 2nd match kung naipasok niya 'yun eh ay hindi na aabot sa tie break si Fejien, kanya yung momentum ng larong yun." said NBS president Jonathan "Bacolod" Sy in an interview yesterday morning.
Earlier, Feijen beat John Schmidt (USA) in the quarters and Thorsten Hohmann (Germany), in the semis, respectively to arrange a titular showdown with Corteza, winner over Ralf Souquet (Germany) and Johnny Archer (USA), in that order.
With the win, Feijen raised his total winnings to US$ 80,590 to climb at No.1 in the 2007 Player Money list. At second place is Filipino Dennis Orcollo with US$55,650.
Meanwhile, Corteza along with double world champion Ronato Alcano will compete in the US$12,000 top prize Turning Stone 9-ball event today in Verona, New York .
The International Challenge of Champions is regarded as the supreme test of skill in professional billiards. The eight players are so evenly matched that any one player could beat the other seven on a given day. In addition, the tournament format is the most demanding test of 9-Ball skill in the sport. The matches are two sets, race to five games each set, with a 1-game sudden death tie-breaker in the event of tied sets. The 9-ball does not count on the break, and to win a game, the 9-ball is call shot. The caliber of competition is so intense that a single mistake invariably eliminates a player from any chance at the winner-take-all purse of US $50,000.
SMB RP 9-BALL OPEN START TODAY IN DAVAO
MORE than 100 pool wizards will converge today, Saturday and Sunday for the second leg of the 4th annual San Miguel Beer Philippine 9-ball Open at the NCCC Mall B3 in Davao City .
According to Puyat Sports’ event manager Ish Caparras and tournament director Rolly Vicente, they are hoping to surpass last year's turnout of entries that reached 130 players.
Last week, a total of 51cue artists participated in the first leg of this tournament held at the Paeng's Skybowl, Robinson's Galleria in Mandaluyong City.
Ricky Zerna, Russian Petiza and Panfilo Damuag of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) garnered a 1-2-3 finish in the first leg last Sunday while 2006 Kuwait 9-ball open champion Jundel Mazon of newly-formed Bronco stable won the fourth and last berths to advance in the Grand Finale on September 14 to 16.
Caparras added that other qualifying legs set on Aug. 18-19 at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar (Bacolod City ), Aug. 25-26 at Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall (Baguio City ) and Sept. 1-2 at the AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth (Q.C).
The 2007 SMB Philippine 9-Ball Open is the joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports, brain child of Philippine Billiard Godfather Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer which offers a total pot prize of Php1.35 million where the champion gets the lion’s share of Php500,000 while the runner-up receives Php250,000. Semi-finalists will grab Php100,000 each. The fifth to 32nd placers are also assured of cash prizes.
Only the top four players in each of the five elimination tourneys will qualify for the 32-man main draw on September 14 to 16, 2007. Every registered player will get one free case of SMB Pale Pilsen.
Caparras said that seeded in the main draw are two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
BENJIE GUEVARRA WINS LOCAL 9-BALL TOURNEY
A FORMER snooker specialist turned professional billiard player won the second leg of the winner take-all 9-ball matches.
Benjie Guevarra, the 1999 Asian Snooker Championships 3rd placer disposed of veteran campaigner NBS ace Godofredo "Boy Cotabato" Ducanes, 11-8, in the finals to emerge-over all champion late Thursday at the Bowling Inn in Taft Avenue late Thursday.
Guevarra, member of the newly-formed Bronco stable of Conrado Poblete, was cold in the opening match allowing Ducanes to take a 4-1 commanding lead in this race-to-11, winner's break format. The tournament attracted 22 players.
Poblete, Bronco chief head is a prominent Filipino business man in New York, USA and a close friend of NCFP president Prospero Pichay Jr. and Bugsy boss Perry Mariano.
"Matamlay 'yung naging panimula ko.Nakabawi ako sa mga sumunod na racks." Said Guevarra, who took home the top prize of Php42,000, in the event jointly organized by Ish Caparras and Rolando Vicente of Puyat Sports.
Guevarra, a former snooker double silver medalist in the Southeast Asian Games got his groove by clustering three straight racks to tie the game at 5 all.
The two warriors again tied the game at 6 all, 7 all to 8 all in the next racks. From then, Guevarra never looked back by winning the next three racks for an 11-8 victory.
Other members of the Bronco stable are 2006 Kuwait 9-ball Open champion Jundel Mazon, Jomar de Ocampo and 13-years-old Jonas Magpantay, nephew of Mindoro second district representative Boy Umali.
Earlier in the tournament, Guevarra beat Florencio Banar, 11-6, Jech-Jech Limen 11-6, Jomar de Ocampo, 11-6, Elmer Kalaquian, 11-6, to reach the finals against Ducanes.
In the first leg, NBS stalwart Ricky Zerna beat John Rebong, 11-9, to bag the championship trophy plus the top prize of Php60,000.
Meanwhile, Ducanes takes on Bugsy bet Joven Bustamante today, 5:00pm at the Star Paper Billiard hall in Joy St. Quezon City for the slot in this year's World Pool Championships according to Raya Sports president and BSCP chairman Yen Makabenta. This 9-ball event will be using a race-to-13, alternate breaks format.
(Reports from MARLON BERNARDINO)
IN INT'L CHALLENGE OF CHAMPIONS
NEILS "The Terminator" Feijen of the Netherlands wins this year's International Challenge of Champions taking home the top prize of US$50,000 for his effort.
Feijen, the European No.1 player beat reigning national open champion and all Japan championship ruler Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, (1-5), (5-3), (1) in the finals via a one rack tie breaker yesterday morning at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
Actually, the 28-year-old Davao City native playing under the banner of Negros Billiard Stable won the first match with a tremendous 5-1 victory. However, Feijen, winner of the Derby City Classic 9-ball event, took the 2nd match with a 5-3 victory to force a 1-rack sudden death play off. Feijen won the opening lag and run-out the match.
" Sayang kinapos na naman si Van-Van (Corteza), sabi niya ay na mintis niya ang 8-ball sa 2nd match kung naipasok niya 'yun eh ay hindi na aabot sa tie break si Fejien, kanya yung momentum ng larong yun." said NBS president Jonathan "Bacolod" Sy in an interview yesterday morning.
Earlier, Feijen beat John Schmidt (USA) in the quarters and Thorsten Hohmann (Germany), in the semis, respectively to arrange a titular showdown with Corteza, winner over Ralf Souquet (Germany) and Johnny Archer (USA), in that order.
With the win, Feijen raised his total winnings to US$ 80,590 to climb at No.1 in the 2007 Player Money list. At second place is Filipino Dennis Orcollo with US$55,650.
Meanwhile, Corteza along with double world champion Ronato Alcano will compete in the US$12,000 top prize Turning Stone 9-ball event today in Verona, New York .
The International Challenge of Champions is regarded as the supreme test of skill in professional billiards. The eight players are so evenly matched that any one player could beat the other seven on a given day. In addition, the tournament format is the most demanding test of 9-Ball skill in the sport. The matches are two sets, race to five games each set, with a 1-game sudden death tie-breaker in the event of tied sets. The 9-ball does not count on the break, and to win a game, the 9-ball is call shot. The caliber of competition is so intense that a single mistake invariably eliminates a player from any chance at the winner-take-all purse of US $50,000.
SMB RP 9-BALL OPEN START TODAY IN DAVAO
MORE than 100 pool wizards will converge today, Saturday and Sunday for the second leg of the 4th annual San Miguel Beer Philippine 9-ball Open at the NCCC Mall B3 in Davao City .
According to Puyat Sports’ event manager Ish Caparras and tournament director Rolly Vicente, they are hoping to surpass last year's turnout of entries that reached 130 players.
Last week, a total of 51cue artists participated in the first leg of this tournament held at the Paeng's Skybowl, Robinson's Galleria in Mandaluyong City.
Ricky Zerna, Russian Petiza and Panfilo Damuag of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) garnered a 1-2-3 finish in the first leg last Sunday while 2006 Kuwait 9-ball open champion Jundel Mazon of newly-formed Bronco stable won the fourth and last berths to advance in the Grand Finale on September 14 to 16.
Caparras added that other qualifying legs set on Aug. 18-19 at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar (Bacolod City ), Aug. 25-26 at Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall (Baguio City ) and Sept. 1-2 at the AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth (Q.C).
The 2007 SMB Philippine 9-Ball Open is the joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports, brain child of Philippine Billiard Godfather Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer which offers a total pot prize of Php1.35 million where the champion gets the lion’s share of Php500,000 while the runner-up receives Php250,000. Semi-finalists will grab Php100,000 each. The fifth to 32nd placers are also assured of cash prizes.
Only the top four players in each of the five elimination tourneys will qualify for the 32-man main draw on September 14 to 16, 2007. Every registered player will get one free case of SMB Pale Pilsen.
Caparras said that seeded in the main draw are two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
BENJIE GUEVARRA WINS LOCAL 9-BALL TOURNEY
A FORMER snooker specialist turned professional billiard player won the second leg of the winner take-all 9-ball matches.
Benjie Guevarra, the 1999 Asian Snooker Championships 3rd placer disposed of veteran campaigner NBS ace Godofredo "Boy Cotabato" Ducanes, 11-8, in the finals to emerge-over all champion late Thursday at the Bowling Inn in Taft Avenue late Thursday.
Guevarra, member of the newly-formed Bronco stable of Conrado Poblete, was cold in the opening match allowing Ducanes to take a 4-1 commanding lead in this race-to-11, winner's break format. The tournament attracted 22 players.
Poblete, Bronco chief head is a prominent Filipino business man in New York, USA and a close friend of NCFP president Prospero Pichay Jr. and Bugsy boss Perry Mariano.
"Matamlay 'yung naging panimula ko.Nakabawi ako sa mga sumunod na racks." Said Guevarra, who took home the top prize of Php42,000, in the event jointly organized by Ish Caparras and Rolando Vicente of Puyat Sports.
Guevarra, a former snooker double silver medalist in the Southeast Asian Games got his groove by clustering three straight racks to tie the game at 5 all.
The two warriors again tied the game at 6 all, 7 all to 8 all in the next racks. From then, Guevarra never looked back by winning the next three racks for an 11-8 victory.
Other members of the Bronco stable are 2006 Kuwait 9-ball Open champion Jundel Mazon, Jomar de Ocampo and 13-years-old Jonas Magpantay, nephew of Mindoro second district representative Boy Umali.
Earlier in the tournament, Guevarra beat Florencio Banar, 11-6, Jech-Jech Limen 11-6, Jomar de Ocampo, 11-6, Elmer Kalaquian, 11-6, to reach the finals against Ducanes.
In the first leg, NBS stalwart Ricky Zerna beat John Rebong, 11-9, to bag the championship trophy plus the top prize of Php60,000.
Meanwhile, Ducanes takes on Bugsy bet Joven Bustamante today, 5:00pm at the Star Paper Billiard hall in Joy St. Quezon City for the slot in this year's World Pool Championships according to Raya Sports president and BSCP chairman Yen Makabenta. This 9-ball event will be using a race-to-13, alternate breaks format.
(Reports from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Thursday, August 9, 2007
NEWS ON CORTEZA, BATA, DJANGO, AND AMIT
CORTEZA OUSTS SOUQUET, ALCANO BOWS TO HOHMANN IN
US$50,000 WINNER-TAKE ALL INT'L CHALLENGE OF CHAMPIONS
The 2007 field includes Johnny Archer (USA), Ronato Alcano (Philippines), Lee Vann Corteza (Philippines), Yang Ching-shun (Taiwan), Ralf Souquet (Germany), Thorsten Hohmann (Germany), Niels Feijen (Holland) and John Schmidt (USA)
Quarters: Thursday Aug. 9, (Manila Time)
Lee Vann Corteza (Philippines) vs Ralf Souquet (Germany), 5-2, 5-1
Thorsten Hohmann (Germany) vs Ronato Alcano (Philippines), 5-3, 5-4
Johnny Archer (USA) vs Yang Ching-shun (Taiwan), 5-4, 5-0
Niels Feijen (Holland) vs John Schmidt (USA), 5-3, 5-4
Semis: Friday Aug. 10 (Manila Time)
Lee Vann Corteza (Philippines) vs Thorsten Hohmann (Germany)
Johnny Archer (USA) vs Niels Feijen (Holland)
REIGNING NATIONAL OPEN champion and ruler of the all Japan championship, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza twice beat former world 9-ball champion Ralf "Kaiser" Souquet of Germany, 5-2 and 5-1, at the start of the eight man field knock-out game invitational US$50,000 winner-take all matches dubbed as the 17 th annual International Challenge of Champions to advance in the next round yesterday at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
The 28-year-old top player of Negros Billiard Stable will face last year's runner up and former world 9-ball champion Thorsten "The Hitman" Hohmann of Germany, winner over Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, currently WPA 9-ball Champion and WPA 8-ball champion, in a similar two-set victory, 5-3 and 5-4.
Both Corteza and Hohmann, are aiming to avenge the loss of their countryman (Alcano and Souquet).
Negros Billiard Stable coach/ manager Christopher Palses lauded Corteza's impressive showing. "Gaya ng una kong sinabi, nagbubunga na din ang paghihirap ng NBS." Palses referring to the 1-2-3 finish of Russian Petiza, Ricky Zerna and Panfilo Damuag in the 1 st leg of the 4th annual SMB Philippine 9-ball Open held last Sunday in Robinson’s Galleria (Ortigas Center).
"Nakatutok pa din kami ni Sir Jonathan (NBS president Jonathan Sy) sa layunin ng NBS na makapag produce ng world champion mula sa Vis-Min. Puro taga Luzon kasi ang World 9-ball at World 8-ball champion." He added.
Defending champion Johnny "The Scorpion" Archer of the United States and European No.1 player Niels "The Terminator" Feijen of the Netherlands also hurdled their respective rivals to dispute the other semi-final matches.
Archer, many time-world 9-ball champion from Waygross, Georgia stunned two-time Asian Games 9-ball gold medalist and 2007 Guinness 9-ball tour elimination top notcher Taiwanese Yang Ching, shun, 5-4, 5-0, while Feijen crushed 2006 US Open champion John Schmidt, also from the USA, 5-3,5-4.
The International Challenge of Champions is regarded as the supreme test of skill in professional billiards. The eight players are so evenly matched that any one player could beat the other seven on a given day. In addition, the tournament format is the most demanding test of 9-Ball skill in the sport. The matches are two sets, race to five games each set, with a 1-game sudden death tie-breaker in the event of tied sets. The 9-ball does not count on the break, and to win a game, the 9-ball is call shot. The caliber of competition is so intense that a single mistake invariably eliminates a player from any chance at the winner-take-all purse of US $50,000.
RP'S DYNAMIC DUO REYES AND BUSTAMANTE WILL DEFEND WORLD CUP OF POOL TITLE
PHILIPPINE’S dynamic duo Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante will defend their crown when the 2nd annual World Cup of Pool gets going on September 25 to 30 at the Outland, a futuristic nightclub in Rotterdam, Holland.
Both Reyes and Bustamante, playing under the banner of RP billiards patron Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, beat Malta, Malaysia, Czech Republic and Germany en route to an impressive 13-5 win over the pair of Earl "The Pearl" Stickland and Rodney "Rocket" Morris of the United States in last year's finals to bag the inaugural championships trophy in Newport, South Wales, England.
"We hope ma defend nina Efren (Reyes) and Django (Bustamante) ang titulo natin sa World Cup of Pool." Puyat said.
In World Cup of Pool, The prize-fund stays the same at a total of US $250,000 with $30,000 going to each member of the winning team. First round losers are guaranteed $1,500 per man to soften the blow of defeat according to official website.
Commented Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn, "We felt that the pool world was crying out for a team event like this so we decided to take the plunge last year with the World Cup of Pool. The tournament was a huge success and I'm certain that this year's event will be even better.
"It's all about the players and last year they delivered some fantastic performances with top class shot-making and plenty of drama throughout.
"Of course, the Philippines will start as favourites – not many people will back against Efren and Django – but there are plenty of teams there to challenge them and there will always be at least one pool minnow that has a great week as they emerge from the pack.
"Our events have always been well supported in Holland and I hope that the 2007 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool proves no exception," he added.
Tournament Information-
Dates: Tuesday 25th to Sunday 30th September 2007
Venue: Outland, Prins Alexanderlaan 37, 3068 PN Rotterdam
Format: 32 x 2-man national teams, scotch doubles format, winner breaks. First and Seconds Rounds: races to 8; Quarters and Semi-Finals: Races to 9; The Final: Race to 11.
Teams:
Australia Stuart Lawler / Shaun Budd
Austria Martin Kempter / Dejan Dabovic
Canada Alain Martel / Edwin Montal
China Li He-wen / Fu Jian-bo
Croatia Philipp Stojanovic / Ivica Putnik
England Daryl Peach / Imran Majid
Finland Mika Immonen / Marcus Juva
France Stephan Cohen / Vincent Facquet
Germany Oliver Ortmann / Christian Reimering
Holland A Niels Feijen / Nick van den Berg
Holland B Alex Lely / Rico Diks
Hungary Vilmos Foldes / TBC
India Dharminder Singh Lilly / Manan Chandra
Indonesia Ricky Yang / Mohammad Zulfikri
Italy Fabio Petroni / Bruno Muratore
Japan Naoyuki Oi / Satoshi Kawabata
Korea Ryu Seung-woo / Kim Woong-dae
Malaysia Patrick Ooi / Ibrahim bin Amir
Malta Tony Drago / Alex Borg
Qatar TBC
Philippines Efren Reyes / Francisco Bustamante
Poland Radoslaw Babica / Mateusz Sniegocki
Russia Konstantin Stepanov / TBC
Scotland Pat Holtz / Michael Valentine
Singapore TBC
South Africa TBC
Spain David Alcaide / Antonio Fazanes
Switzerland Marco Tschudi / Dimitri Jungo
Taiwan Yang Ching-shun / Wu Chia-ching
USA Rodney Morris / Corey Deuel
Vietnam Luong Chi-dung / Phanh Nam Nguyen
AMIT MAKES IT TO THE FINAL FOUR IN WOMEN'S TAIPEI TILT
Putch Puyat is also the benefactor of country's “Top 3”women's players namely, Rubilen Amit, Irish Ranola and Mary-Ann Basas. Puyat revealed that Rubilen Amit, the 2007 Amway World Women's 9-ball runner-up made it to the final four in the Women's invitational Tournament in Taipei.
"Nasa top four na si Rubilen (Amit), sana magtuloy-tuloy na siya. Ito na ang next big win ni Rubilen matapos siyang mag runner-up sa World Women's 9-ball sa Taipei." He added.
Amit, fondly called "Bingkay" in the pool world will take on Taiwanese Shin Mei Liu, the 2006 Doha Asian Games 9-ball gold medalist.
Former women's world 9-ball champion Ga Young-kim of Korea will face another local star Chieh Yu Chou to complete the final four on Monday.
Amit earlier topped Group D bracket composed of I-Yun Su and Hui-Shan Lai to advance in the final four according to Puyat Sports event manager Ish Caparras.
Amit, the 2005 Manila Southeast Asian Games 9-ball and 8-ball gold medal winner will fly back home on Tuesday.
The former Makati Call Center employee turned professional pool player lost to eventual winner Xiao-Ting pan of China for this year's Women's World 9-ball crown last April 5 to 8 in Tao-Yuan, Taiwan.
Top finisher in each group will advance to the final four in Women's Invitational Tournament in Taiwan:
Group A: Yu-Chuan Tsai, (Chieh-Yu Chou-winner), Yuan-Chun Lin
Group B: Pei-Chun Lin Pei-Chun Tsai, (Ga-Young Kim-winner)
Group c: Ya-Ling Chen, Shu-Han Chang, (Shin-Mei Lui-winner)
Group D: I-Yun Su, Hui-Shan Lai, ( Rubilen Amit-winner)
US$50,000 WINNER-TAKE ALL INT'L CHALLENGE OF CHAMPIONS
The 2007 field includes Johnny Archer (USA), Ronato Alcano (Philippines), Lee Vann Corteza (Philippines), Yang Ching-shun (Taiwan), Ralf Souquet (Germany), Thorsten Hohmann (Germany), Niels Feijen (Holland) and John Schmidt (USA)
Quarters: Thursday Aug. 9, (Manila Time)
Lee Vann Corteza (Philippines) vs Ralf Souquet (Germany), 5-2, 5-1
Thorsten Hohmann (Germany) vs Ronato Alcano (Philippines), 5-3, 5-4
Johnny Archer (USA) vs Yang Ching-shun (Taiwan), 5-4, 5-0
Niels Feijen (Holland) vs John Schmidt (USA), 5-3, 5-4
Semis: Friday Aug. 10 (Manila Time)
Lee Vann Corteza (Philippines) vs Thorsten Hohmann (Germany)
Johnny Archer (USA) vs Niels Feijen (Holland)
REIGNING NATIONAL OPEN champion and ruler of the all Japan championship, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza twice beat former world 9-ball champion Ralf "Kaiser" Souquet of Germany, 5-2 and 5-1, at the start of the eight man field knock-out game invitational US$50,000 winner-take all matches dubbed as the 17 th annual International Challenge of Champions to advance in the next round yesterday at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.
The 28-year-old top player of Negros Billiard Stable will face last year's runner up and former world 9-ball champion Thorsten "The Hitman" Hohmann of Germany, winner over Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, currently WPA 9-ball Champion and WPA 8-ball champion, in a similar two-set victory, 5-3 and 5-4.
Both Corteza and Hohmann, are aiming to avenge the loss of their countryman (Alcano and Souquet).
Negros Billiard Stable coach/ manager Christopher Palses lauded Corteza's impressive showing. "Gaya ng una kong sinabi, nagbubunga na din ang paghihirap ng NBS." Palses referring to the 1-2-3 finish of Russian Petiza, Ricky Zerna and Panfilo Damuag in the 1 st leg of the 4th annual SMB Philippine 9-ball Open held last Sunday in Robinson’s Galleria (Ortigas Center).
"Nakatutok pa din kami ni Sir Jonathan (NBS president Jonathan Sy) sa layunin ng NBS na makapag produce ng world champion mula sa Vis-Min. Puro taga Luzon kasi ang World 9-ball at World 8-ball champion." He added.
Defending champion Johnny "The Scorpion" Archer of the United States and European No.1 player Niels "The Terminator" Feijen of the Netherlands also hurdled their respective rivals to dispute the other semi-final matches.
Archer, many time-world 9-ball champion from Waygross, Georgia stunned two-time Asian Games 9-ball gold medalist and 2007 Guinness 9-ball tour elimination top notcher Taiwanese Yang Ching, shun, 5-4, 5-0, while Feijen crushed 2006 US Open champion John Schmidt, also from the USA, 5-3,5-4.
The International Challenge of Champions is regarded as the supreme test of skill in professional billiards. The eight players are so evenly matched that any one player could beat the other seven on a given day. In addition, the tournament format is the most demanding test of 9-Ball skill in the sport. The matches are two sets, race to five games each set, with a 1-game sudden death tie-breaker in the event of tied sets. The 9-ball does not count on the break, and to win a game, the 9-ball is call shot. The caliber of competition is so intense that a single mistake invariably eliminates a player from any chance at the winner-take-all purse of US $50,000.
RP'S DYNAMIC DUO REYES AND BUSTAMANTE WILL DEFEND WORLD CUP OF POOL TITLE
PHILIPPINE’S dynamic duo Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante will defend their crown when the 2nd annual World Cup of Pool gets going on September 25 to 30 at the Outland, a futuristic nightclub in Rotterdam, Holland.
Both Reyes and Bustamante, playing under the banner of RP billiards patron Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, beat Malta, Malaysia, Czech Republic and Germany en route to an impressive 13-5 win over the pair of Earl "The Pearl" Stickland and Rodney "Rocket" Morris of the United States in last year's finals to bag the inaugural championships trophy in Newport, South Wales, England.
"We hope ma defend nina Efren (Reyes) and Django (Bustamante) ang titulo natin sa World Cup of Pool." Puyat said.
In World Cup of Pool, The prize-fund stays the same at a total of US $250,000 with $30,000 going to each member of the winning team. First round losers are guaranteed $1,500 per man to soften the blow of defeat according to official website.
Commented Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn, "We felt that the pool world was crying out for a team event like this so we decided to take the plunge last year with the World Cup of Pool. The tournament was a huge success and I'm certain that this year's event will be even better.
"It's all about the players and last year they delivered some fantastic performances with top class shot-making and plenty of drama throughout.
"Of course, the Philippines will start as favourites – not many people will back against Efren and Django – but there are plenty of teams there to challenge them and there will always be at least one pool minnow that has a great week as they emerge from the pack.
"Our events have always been well supported in Holland and I hope that the 2007 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool proves no exception," he added.
Tournament Information-
Dates: Tuesday 25th to Sunday 30th September 2007
Venue: Outland, Prins Alexanderlaan 37, 3068 PN Rotterdam
Format: 32 x 2-man national teams, scotch doubles format, winner breaks. First and Seconds Rounds: races to 8; Quarters and Semi-Finals: Races to 9; The Final: Race to 11.
Teams:
Australia Stuart Lawler / Shaun Budd
Austria Martin Kempter / Dejan Dabovic
Canada Alain Martel / Edwin Montal
China Li He-wen / Fu Jian-bo
Croatia Philipp Stojanovic / Ivica Putnik
England Daryl Peach / Imran Majid
Finland Mika Immonen / Marcus Juva
France Stephan Cohen / Vincent Facquet
Germany Oliver Ortmann / Christian Reimering
Holland A Niels Feijen / Nick van den Berg
Holland B Alex Lely / Rico Diks
Hungary Vilmos Foldes / TBC
India Dharminder Singh Lilly / Manan Chandra
Indonesia Ricky Yang / Mohammad Zulfikri
Italy Fabio Petroni / Bruno Muratore
Japan Naoyuki Oi / Satoshi Kawabata
Korea Ryu Seung-woo / Kim Woong-dae
Malaysia Patrick Ooi / Ibrahim bin Amir
Malta Tony Drago / Alex Borg
Qatar TBC
Philippines Efren Reyes / Francisco Bustamante
Poland Radoslaw Babica / Mateusz Sniegocki
Russia Konstantin Stepanov / TBC
Scotland Pat Holtz / Michael Valentine
Singapore TBC
South Africa TBC
Spain David Alcaide / Antonio Fazanes
Switzerland Marco Tschudi / Dimitri Jungo
Taiwan Yang Ching-shun / Wu Chia-ching
USA Rodney Morris / Corey Deuel
Vietnam Luong Chi-dung / Phanh Nam Nguyen
AMIT MAKES IT TO THE FINAL FOUR IN WOMEN'S TAIPEI TILT
Putch Puyat is also the benefactor of country's “Top 3”women's players namely, Rubilen Amit, Irish Ranola and Mary-Ann Basas. Puyat revealed that Rubilen Amit, the 2007 Amway World Women's 9-ball runner-up made it to the final four in the Women's invitational Tournament in Taipei.
"Nasa top four na si Rubilen (Amit), sana magtuloy-tuloy na siya. Ito na ang next big win ni Rubilen matapos siyang mag runner-up sa World Women's 9-ball sa Taipei." He added.
Amit, fondly called "Bingkay" in the pool world will take on Taiwanese Shin Mei Liu, the 2006 Doha Asian Games 9-ball gold medalist.
Former women's world 9-ball champion Ga Young-kim of Korea will face another local star Chieh Yu Chou to complete the final four on Monday.
Amit earlier topped Group D bracket composed of I-Yun Su and Hui-Shan Lai to advance in the final four according to Puyat Sports event manager Ish Caparras.
Amit, the 2005 Manila Southeast Asian Games 9-ball and 8-ball gold medal winner will fly back home on Tuesday.
The former Makati Call Center employee turned professional pool player lost to eventual winner Xiao-Ting pan of China for this year's Women's World 9-ball crown last April 5 to 8 in Tao-Yuan, Taiwan.
Top finisher in each group will advance to the final four in Women's Invitational Tournament in Taiwan:
Group A: Yu-Chuan Tsai, (Chieh-Yu Chou-winner), Yuan-Chun Lin
Group B: Pei-Chun Lin Pei-Chun Tsai, (Ga-Young Kim-winner)
Group c: Ya-Ling Chen, Shu-Han Chang, (Shin-Mei Lui-winner)
Group D: I-Yun Su, Hui-Shan Lai, ( Rubilen Amit-winner)
Monday, August 6, 2007
NBS BETS SHINE IN SAN MIGUEL 9-BALL OPENNER
NEGROS Billiard Stable bets Ricky "Bai" Zerna and Russian Petiza beat their respective rivals to finish undefeated in this 51 man-field in the 4th annual San Miguel Beer Philippine 9-ball Open that was concluded late Sunday at the Paeng's Skybowl, Robinson's Galleria in Mandaluyong City.
The 25-year-old Zerna, who hails from Dumaguete City beat fellow NBS member Panfilo "Abu Lintok" Damuag (7-5) while the 22-year-old Petiza, a native of Bacolod City stunned 2006 Kuwait 9-ball open champion Jundel Mazon (7-4) in the winner's brackets to grab the first two slots in the Grand Finale on September 14 to 16.
Damuag and Mazon on the other hand, frustrated their respective opponents to secure the last two remaining slots in the loser's brackets, in this race-to-7, double elimination format.
The 30-year-old Norala, of South, Cotabato Damuag nipped 2007 Oslo, Norway Battle of Scandinavia 9-ball runner-up Jharome "Pendong" Pena (7-5) while the 34-year-old Mazon from Marinduque clustered two golden breaks including the last rack to nip Florencio Banar (7-4).
The 2007 SMB Philippine 9-Ball Open is the joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports, brain child of Philippine Billiard God Father Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer which offers a total pot prize Php1.35 million where the champion getting the lion’s share of Php500,000.
"Nagbunga na din ang ginagawa naming (NBS) pagsasanay, kaya lubos na lubos ang kasiyahan kong nadarama dahil sa napakagandang performance ng mga bata." Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) coach/ manager Christopher Palses said referring the 1-2-3 finish of Zerna, Petiza and Damuag, all members of NBS that includes Lee Vann Corteza, who managed to advance to the Grand Finale of the Guinness 9-ball tour.
Earlier, Petiza got a bye in the first round then clobbered Jericho Banares (7-4), Dodong Dela Cruz (7-5), Banar (7-5) and Damuag (7-5), while Zerna, the 2007 Puyat 9-ball tour winner, disposed of Mark Mendoza (7-4), Alex Lumpay (7-2), Joey Pardales (7-2), Aladin Duloa (7-4) and Mazon (7-4), respectively.
Damuag, meanwhile crushed Jim Lagang (7-0), another NBS stalwart Jarry Pelayo (7-1), Pena (7-5), BSCP founding president Edgar Acaba (7-5), before losing to Petiza (5-7) then beat Pena again (7-5) for the second time.
Mazon, nipped Boboy Rabe (7-4), Johann Chua (7-0) Johnson Vita (7-3), Napoleon Labrador (7-2), yielded to Zerna (4-7) then drubbed Banar (7-5).
Puyat Sports events manager Ish Caparras said that seeded in the main draw were two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
Here's other qualifying legs of this tournament: Aug. 11-12 B3 Bowling Billiards and Bar, NCCC Mall (Davao City) , Aug. 18-19 Celebrity Billiards and Bar (Bacolod City), Aug. 25-26 Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall (Baguio City) and Sept. 1-2 AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth (Q.C).
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
The 25-year-old Zerna, who hails from Dumaguete City beat fellow NBS member Panfilo "Abu Lintok" Damuag (7-5) while the 22-year-old Petiza, a native of Bacolod City stunned 2006 Kuwait 9-ball open champion Jundel Mazon (7-4) in the winner's brackets to grab the first two slots in the Grand Finale on September 14 to 16.
Damuag and Mazon on the other hand, frustrated their respective opponents to secure the last two remaining slots in the loser's brackets, in this race-to-7, double elimination format.
The 30-year-old Norala, of South, Cotabato Damuag nipped 2007 Oslo, Norway Battle of Scandinavia 9-ball runner-up Jharome "Pendong" Pena (7-5) while the 34-year-old Mazon from Marinduque clustered two golden breaks including the last rack to nip Florencio Banar (7-4).
The 2007 SMB Philippine 9-Ball Open is the joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports, brain child of Philippine Billiard God Father Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer which offers a total pot prize Php1.35 million where the champion getting the lion’s share of Php500,000.
"Nagbunga na din ang ginagawa naming (NBS) pagsasanay, kaya lubos na lubos ang kasiyahan kong nadarama dahil sa napakagandang performance ng mga bata." Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) coach/ manager Christopher Palses said referring the 1-2-3 finish of Zerna, Petiza and Damuag, all members of NBS that includes Lee Vann Corteza, who managed to advance to the Grand Finale of the Guinness 9-ball tour.
Earlier, Petiza got a bye in the first round then clobbered Jericho Banares (7-4), Dodong Dela Cruz (7-5), Banar (7-5) and Damuag (7-5), while Zerna, the 2007 Puyat 9-ball tour winner, disposed of Mark Mendoza (7-4), Alex Lumpay (7-2), Joey Pardales (7-2), Aladin Duloa (7-4) and Mazon (7-4), respectively.
Damuag, meanwhile crushed Jim Lagang (7-0), another NBS stalwart Jarry Pelayo (7-1), Pena (7-5), BSCP founding president Edgar Acaba (7-5), before losing to Petiza (5-7) then beat Pena again (7-5) for the second time.
Mazon, nipped Boboy Rabe (7-4), Johann Chua (7-0) Johnson Vita (7-3), Napoleon Labrador (7-2), yielded to Zerna (4-7) then drubbed Banar (7-5).
Puyat Sports events manager Ish Caparras said that seeded in the main draw were two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
Here's other qualifying legs of this tournament: Aug. 11-12 B3 Bowling Billiards and Bar, NCCC Mall (Davao City) , Aug. 18-19 Celebrity Billiards and Bar (Bacolod City), Aug. 25-26 Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall (Baguio City) and Sept. 1-2 AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth (Q.C).
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Sunday, August 5, 2007
SHANGHAIED IN SHANGHAI
The Guinness 9-ball Tour ended Sunday with Filipino billiards players still without a victory to bring home.
In Sunday’s final in Shanghai, Ronato Alcano, the current World Pool Congress 9-ball champion, battled Chinese Taipei whiz Yang Shing-chun in an exciting shoot-out for more than two hours but in the end fell to the steady Taiwanese, 10-12.
It was a finger-biting seesaw battle all the way. Yang took the lead early, racing to a formidable 4-1 lead. Alcano caught up with him midway and grabbed the lead, 7-5. But Yang stormed back and surged to a 9-8 advantage. Alcano took the next two racks, 10-9, but in the ensuing exchange of safeties in the last three racks, he could not quite get his game going, finally losing to the unflappable Taiwanese, 12-10.
Taiwanese players dominated the Guinness Tour’s inaugural event. Yang copped three legs and Chang Jung-lin took two.
The unsuccessful Filipino campaign in the Guinness Tour has one consolation for Filipino fans: Alcano and Lee Vann Corteza made it to the main draw of the WPC championships to be held in the Philippines starting Nov. 3.
From a report by Marlon Bernardino
In Sunday’s final in Shanghai, Ronato Alcano, the current World Pool Congress 9-ball champion, battled Chinese Taipei whiz Yang Shing-chun in an exciting shoot-out for more than two hours but in the end fell to the steady Taiwanese, 10-12.
It was a finger-biting seesaw battle all the way. Yang took the lead early, racing to a formidable 4-1 lead. Alcano caught up with him midway and grabbed the lead, 7-5. But Yang stormed back and surged to a 9-8 advantage. Alcano took the next two racks, 10-9, but in the ensuing exchange of safeties in the last three racks, he could not quite get his game going, finally losing to the unflappable Taiwanese, 12-10.
Taiwanese players dominated the Guinness Tour’s inaugural event. Yang copped three legs and Chang Jung-lin took two.
The unsuccessful Filipino campaign in the Guinness Tour has one consolation for Filipino fans: Alcano and Lee Vann Corteza made it to the main draw of the WPC championships to be held in the Philippines starting Nov. 3.
From a report by Marlon Bernardino
GIVE ME A BREAK
By: Frank Lacambra
We hope the war of words between the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines and Alex Pagulayan, one of the brightest stars in Philippine billiards, will not go beyond what it is right now--a war of words.
But we’ve read about something else and it doesn’t sound too good. We’ve read that Pagulayan, has threatened to set up a separate association for billiards players. Now that’s worrying. We hope he hurled that threat in the heat of the moment and didn’t really mean it.
If he goes through with it, we can only see trouble ahead. A break away by the players from the national billiards association would virtually tear apart the country’s billiards community. And the damage could be permanent.
Every effort should be made to patch things up as soon as possible. A good start would be for The Lion, as Alex is known to his countless fans, to tone down his roar and rhetoric and ask for the specific reason or reasons why he was replaced. It’s only right that the BSCP should hear his side.
For its part, the BSCP might consider coming up with a Code of Conduct, or specific criteria to be used for evaluating or rating Filipino players participating in international tournaments—whether they are representing the country or not.
With the Philippines in the midst of preparing to host the World Pool Championship for the second year in a row, the country needs a nasty internal row like it needs a hole in the head.
We hope the war of words between the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines and Alex Pagulayan, one of the brightest stars in Philippine billiards, will not go beyond what it is right now--a war of words.
But we’ve read about something else and it doesn’t sound too good. We’ve read that Pagulayan, has threatened to set up a separate association for billiards players. Now that’s worrying. We hope he hurled that threat in the heat of the moment and didn’t really mean it.
If he goes through with it, we can only see trouble ahead. A break away by the players from the national billiards association would virtually tear apart the country’s billiards community. And the damage could be permanent.
Every effort should be made to patch things up as soon as possible. A good start would be for The Lion, as Alex is known to his countless fans, to tone down his roar and rhetoric and ask for the specific reason or reasons why he was replaced. It’s only right that the BSCP should hear his side.
For its part, the BSCP might consider coming up with a Code of Conduct, or specific criteria to be used for evaluating or rating Filipino players participating in international tournaments—whether they are representing the country or not.
With the Philippines in the midst of preparing to host the World Pool Championship for the second year in a row, the country needs a nasty internal row like it needs a hole in the head.
Friday, August 3, 2007
SAN MIGUEL PHILIPPINE 9-BALL OPEN
4TH ANNUAL SMB PHILIPPINE 9-BALL OPEN UNREELS TODAY IN GALLERIA
COUNTRY'S pool sharks converge today (Saturday), Aug. 4-5 when the 4 th annual San Miguel Beer Philippine 9-ball Open gets underway at the Paeng's Skybowl, Robinson's Galleria in Mandaluyong City.
The five qualifying stages with two in Metro Manila and the other three in Davao, Bacolod and Baguio City offers a total pot prize P1.350,000 where the champion gets the lion’s share of Php500,000.
Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) will parade at least seven players who are gunning for four slots to advance in the Grand Finals on September 14 to 16.
According to NBS coach/ manager Christopher Palses, his entries includes Ricky "Bai" Zerna, winner in the recently Puyat 9-ball tour, Jarry "Putol" Pelayo, Godofredo "Boy Cotabato" Ducanes, Troy "Guwapito" Danao, Panfilo "Abu Lintok" Damuag, Jech Jech "Lemon" Lemen and Russian Petiza.
Bugsy Promotion on the other hand will field Jharome "Pendong" Pena, Joven "The Shark" Bustamante, Elmer "Buddy" Kalaquian and Gandy "Sapsal" Valle.
Puyat Sports events manager Ish Caparras said that seeded in the main draw were
two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
The 2007 SMB Philippine 9-Ball Open is the joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer.
Here's the other qualifying legs: Aug. 11-12, B3 Bowling Billiards and Bar, NCCC Mall (Davao City) , Aug. 18-19 Celebrity Billiards and Bar (Bacolod City), Aug. 25-26 Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall (Baguio City) and Sept. 1-2 AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth (Q.C).
PRIZE STRUCTURE:
Champion: Php 500,000
Runner-up: Php 250,000
2 semifinalists: Php 100,000 each (200,000)
5th and 6th: Php 40,000 each (80,000)
7th and 8th: Php 30,000 each (60,000)
9th-12th: Php 20,000 each (80,000)
13th-16th: Php 15,000 each (60,000)
17th-24th: Php 10,000 each (80,000)
25th-32nd: Php 5,000 each (40,000)
Total Cash Prize: Php 1,350,000
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO).
COUNTRY'S pool sharks converge today (Saturday), Aug. 4-5 when the 4 th annual San Miguel Beer Philippine 9-ball Open gets underway at the Paeng's Skybowl, Robinson's Galleria in Mandaluyong City.
The five qualifying stages with two in Metro Manila and the other three in Davao, Bacolod and Baguio City offers a total pot prize P1.350,000 where the champion gets the lion’s share of Php500,000.
Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) will parade at least seven players who are gunning for four slots to advance in the Grand Finals on September 14 to 16.
According to NBS coach/ manager Christopher Palses, his entries includes Ricky "Bai" Zerna, winner in the recently Puyat 9-ball tour, Jarry "Putol" Pelayo, Godofredo "Boy Cotabato" Ducanes, Troy "Guwapito" Danao, Panfilo "Abu Lintok" Damuag, Jech Jech "Lemon" Lemen and Russian Petiza.
Bugsy Promotion on the other hand will field Jharome "Pendong" Pena, Joven "The Shark" Bustamante, Elmer "Buddy" Kalaquian and Gandy "Sapsal" Valle.
Puyat Sports events manager Ish Caparras said that seeded in the main draw were
two-time defending champion Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Leonardo "Dodong" Didal, Mike "Choke" Takayama, Carlo "Cool" Biado, Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Jose "Amang" Parica.
The 2007 SMB Philippine 9-Ball Open is the joint initiative of Puyat Sports and Solar Sports with the continued patronage of San Miguel Beer.
Here's the other qualifying legs: Aug. 11-12, B3 Bowling Billiards and Bar, NCCC Mall (Davao City) , Aug. 18-19 Celebrity Billiards and Bar (Bacolod City), Aug. 25-26 Puyat Sports@Baguio Center Mall (Baguio City) and Sept. 1-2 AMF-Puyat Commonwealth Lanes, Ever Gotesco Comonwealth (Q.C).
PRIZE STRUCTURE:
Champion: Php 500,000
Runner-up: Php 250,000
2 semifinalists: Php 100,000 each (200,000)
5th and 6th: Php 40,000 each (80,000)
7th and 8th: Php 30,000 each (60,000)
9th-12th: Php 20,000 each (80,000)
13th-16th: Php 15,000 each (60,000)
17th-24th: Php 10,000 each (80,000)
25th-32nd: Php 5,000 each (40,000)
Total Cash Prize: Php 1,350,000
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO).
FINAL LEG OF GUINNESS 9-BALL TOURNAMENT OPENS
GOMEZ, DE LUNA TAKE CHARGE IN SHANGHAI GUINNESS 9-BALL TOUR
Two of the country's hottest young cue masters won their opening matches to take charge of the Filipinos campaign at the start of fifth and final leg of Guinness 9-ball tour in Shanghai, China yesterday.
Jeffrey De Luna, the 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball silver medallist, who replaced 2004 Taiwan World 9-ball champion Alex Pagulayan edged Indonesian Ricky Yang, 9 – 7, while Roberto Gomez moved one step closer to clinching a Grand Final slot by crushing Singapore's standout Bernard Tey, 9 – 3.
Racing to an early 4 – 2 advantage against Yang, the 24-years-old De Luna was able to dictate the tempo of the match and frustrated his opponent with precise positional plays and consistent potting. But midway through the contest, the Indonesian finally began to heat up which allowed him get back in the game via break and run outs at the 7th, 9th, 11th racks to have the score 5 – 6.
Rattled by the sudden shift in momentum, De Luna momentarily lost his concentration to bungle a simple four ball approach at the 13th rack and a foul on a counter safety attempt on the blue 2 in the next. The two consecutive errors brought life into Yang's campaign as he managed to capitalize on the Filipino's miscues and level the score at 7 racks a-piece.
Breaking next, Yang, the 2006 POBSI National champion, could have retaken the lead but unfortunately his stroke betrayed him on the one ball pot off the break causing him to miss. Reluctantly Yang trudged back to his seat as he watched De Luna effortlessly clean-up and sit on the hill at 8 – 7.
It was the last time the Sungei Brambang native would see action in the Group C opener as De Luna, already able to recover from his earlier mistakes attacked the table – utilizing his patented power break to give him a clear path towards victory.
It was a different story over at the Group B preliminaries. While De Luna had to struggle versus Yang, his compatriot, the 28-year-old Divisoria / Zamboanga City native Gomez, encountered little resistance from the Tour's eighth seeded competitor Tey.
In a matchup that had serious implications for the campaigns of the two players as Gomez and Tey both needed to produce remarkable performances in Shanghai in order to ensure a slot for Bali where only the Top Ten finishers will qualify.
Although the Singaporean was already occupying a slot in the Top Ten with 100 aggregate points, bowing down in the preliminaries was not a desired option as a poor performance could jeopardize his Grand Final ticket given the myriad of challengers just outside the cut-off point. On the other hand, Gomez, with 60 points through his stints in the Genting Highlands and Singapore legs, needs to reach at least the finals to have a shot at the US$70,000.00 Grand Finals. For the Filipino, losing at this stage of the three day tournament was not an option.
As such, winning the Shanghai opener in such an emphatic fashion could only prove to bolster Gomez' confidence and morale.
Right off the get go, the willpower to succeed was evident in the Filipino. From the way he approached the table to the way he observed his opponent’s play, Gomez was determined to win.
Also known as the "Superman" in the local circuit, Gomez showcased remarkable skill and pace control to steal the thunder from Tey right off the get go. Although it was obvious his form was on, Gomez never forced the issue as he remained patient and chose to pick his shots carefully.
This approach proved to be most effective and was the winning formula for the Filipino in his encounter with Tey who only managed to score in the 1st, 6th and 10th racks.
For the second wave of group matches, De Luna will be testing the pocketing prowess of China's Fu Jian Bo while Gomez will challenge Li He Wen, another Chinese bet who is also chasing Order of Merit points.
Two more Filipinos were seeing action as of press time. Lee Vann Corteza, the 28-year-old Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) ace was battling Thailander Nitiwat Kanjanasri and in the evening session, duel with Chinese-Taipei's sentimental favourite two-time world pool champion Taiwanese Chao Fong-Pang.
Corteza, the reigning Philippine champion with 80 Order of Merit points needs to win this game because he is tied with Hong Kong's Au Chi Wai and Japanese Naoyuki Oi for the tenth spot. Meanwhile, reigning double world champion Ronato Alcano will have less pressure in his Group F draw against China's Zhang Shu Chun and Oi as he already has 110 accumulated points through his participation in the 2007 tour. (Report from MARLON BERNARDINO).
Two of the country's hottest young cue masters won their opening matches to take charge of the Filipinos campaign at the start of fifth and final leg of Guinness 9-ball tour in Shanghai, China yesterday.
Jeffrey De Luna, the 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball silver medallist, who replaced 2004 Taiwan World 9-ball champion Alex Pagulayan edged Indonesian Ricky Yang, 9 – 7, while Roberto Gomez moved one step closer to clinching a Grand Final slot by crushing Singapore's standout Bernard Tey, 9 – 3.
Racing to an early 4 – 2 advantage against Yang, the 24-years-old De Luna was able to dictate the tempo of the match and frustrated his opponent with precise positional plays and consistent potting. But midway through the contest, the Indonesian finally began to heat up which allowed him get back in the game via break and run outs at the 7th, 9th, 11th racks to have the score 5 – 6.
Rattled by the sudden shift in momentum, De Luna momentarily lost his concentration to bungle a simple four ball approach at the 13th rack and a foul on a counter safety attempt on the blue 2 in the next. The two consecutive errors brought life into Yang's campaign as he managed to capitalize on the Filipino's miscues and level the score at 7 racks a-piece.
Breaking next, Yang, the 2006 POBSI National champion, could have retaken the lead but unfortunately his stroke betrayed him on the one ball pot off the break causing him to miss. Reluctantly Yang trudged back to his seat as he watched De Luna effortlessly clean-up and sit on the hill at 8 – 7.
It was the last time the Sungei Brambang native would see action in the Group C opener as De Luna, already able to recover from his earlier mistakes attacked the table – utilizing his patented power break to give him a clear path towards victory.
It was a different story over at the Group B preliminaries. While De Luna had to struggle versus Yang, his compatriot, the 28-year-old Divisoria / Zamboanga City native Gomez, encountered little resistance from the Tour's eighth seeded competitor Tey.
In a matchup that had serious implications for the campaigns of the two players as Gomez and Tey both needed to produce remarkable performances in Shanghai in order to ensure a slot for Bali where only the Top Ten finishers will qualify.
Although the Singaporean was already occupying a slot in the Top Ten with 100 aggregate points, bowing down in the preliminaries was not a desired option as a poor performance could jeopardize his Grand Final ticket given the myriad of challengers just outside the cut-off point. On the other hand, Gomez, with 60 points through his stints in the Genting Highlands and Singapore legs, needs to reach at least the finals to have a shot at the US$70,000.00 Grand Finals. For the Filipino, losing at this stage of the three day tournament was not an option.
As such, winning the Shanghai opener in such an emphatic fashion could only prove to bolster Gomez' confidence and morale.
Right off the get go, the willpower to succeed was evident in the Filipino. From the way he approached the table to the way he observed his opponent’s play, Gomez was determined to win.
Also known as the "Superman" in the local circuit, Gomez showcased remarkable skill and pace control to steal the thunder from Tey right off the get go. Although it was obvious his form was on, Gomez never forced the issue as he remained patient and chose to pick his shots carefully.
This approach proved to be most effective and was the winning formula for the Filipino in his encounter with Tey who only managed to score in the 1st, 6th and 10th racks.
For the second wave of group matches, De Luna will be testing the pocketing prowess of China's Fu Jian Bo while Gomez will challenge Li He Wen, another Chinese bet who is also chasing Order of Merit points.
Two more Filipinos were seeing action as of press time. Lee Vann Corteza, the 28-year-old Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) ace was battling Thailander Nitiwat Kanjanasri and in the evening session, duel with Chinese-Taipei's sentimental favourite two-time world pool champion Taiwanese Chao Fong-Pang.
Corteza, the reigning Philippine champion with 80 Order of Merit points needs to win this game because he is tied with Hong Kong's Au Chi Wai and Japanese Naoyuki Oi for the tenth spot. Meanwhile, reigning double world champion Ronato Alcano will have less pressure in his Group F draw against China's Zhang Shu Chun and Oi as he already has 110 accumulated points through his participation in the 2007 tour. (Report from MARLON BERNARDINO).
Thursday, August 2, 2007
FOURTH LEG GUINNESS 9-BALL TOUR
ROOMMATE ALCANO AND CORTEZA, 2 OTHERS
TRY TO SNAP RP'S TITLE DROUGHT IN GUINNESS TOUR TODAY
Roomates, reigning double world champion Ronato "Volcano "Alcano and 2nd BSCP National Championships ruler Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza along with two other Filipinos try to snap the Philippines' title drought in the 2007 Guinness 9-Ball Tour as they open their respective bids in the fifth and final leg of the $320,000 event at the Shanghai Hotel in Shanghai, China today, Friday Aug. 3 till Sunday Aug. 5.
The other Filipinos are 2007 Oslo, Norway Battle of Scandinavia 9-ball champion Roberto "Pinoy Superman" Gomez and 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball silver medalist Jeffrey De Luna, who replaced 2004 Taiwan World 9-ball Champion and 2005 US Open 9-ball Champion Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan.
The 34-year-old Alcano, who is fighting rape and child abuse cases filed against him by his teenage daughter before the Quezon City Prosecutors Office, is the only Filipino in the field who is assured a slot in the Grand Finale on August 31 to September 2 in Bali, Indonesia. He has compiled 110 points after the four city leg.
"I will do my very best for my flag and country, I'll hope in this last leg na manalo ako okaya kapwa Pilipino." said Alcano, in an exclusive interview with this writer at the Bugsy headquarters in Quezon City last Tuesday.
Alcano, comment on the rape and child abuse charges filed against him by his teenage daughter, "Matatapos din yan eh, pero s'yempre apektado tayo." Alcano has never won any major tournament since the cases were filed while the 2nd BSCP National Championships was on-going last March at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Meanwhile, Alcano's roommate Corteza, the 28-year-old top ace of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) is eyeing to advance in the Grand Finale by accumulating a total of 80 points in the tournament.
"Kailangan kong makapasok sa semis sa Shanghai leg para makatiyak ako sa top 10 tungo sa Grand Finals sa Bali, 120 points ang kailangan para makasiguro sa top 10." Corteza said in a separate interview last Tuesday, fresh from a third place finish in the 2007 Cebu 9-ball challenge last Sunday which was won by Alex Pagulayan.
After the Shanghai leg, both Alcano and Corteza will also carry the country's colors when the 2007 US$50,000 winner-take all dubbed as International Challenge of Champions gets underway on August 9 to 10 at the Mohegan Suns Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut in USA.
In last year's edition, the Philippines swept the four legs of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour behind pool maestro Efren "Bata" Reyes, who won twice, and countrymen Rodolfo Luat and Ramil Gallego who took one leg each.
Up for grabs in the Shanghai tourney is a total prize purse of $50,000 as well as points to qualify for the Tour's Grand Finals in Bali on Aug. 31-Sept. 2, which will feature the top 10 players in the overall Order of Merit. Winners of each leg receive $15,000 while the grand champion will pocket $36,000 in the three-day, annual nation-hopping event organized by ESPN STAR Sports, Asia's number one sports broadcaster.
Taiwanese Chang Jung-lin topped this year's inaugural Jakarta leg on April 20-22 and also ruled the third leg in Genting Highlands in Malaysia on June 15-17. Another Taiwanese, Yang Ching-shun, topped the second leg in Kaohsiung on May 18-20 and the fourth leg in Singapore last July 13-15.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
TRY TO SNAP RP'S TITLE DROUGHT IN GUINNESS TOUR TODAY
Roomates, reigning double world champion Ronato "Volcano "Alcano and 2nd BSCP National Championships ruler Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza along with two other Filipinos try to snap the Philippines' title drought in the 2007 Guinness 9-Ball Tour as they open their respective bids in the fifth and final leg of the $320,000 event at the Shanghai Hotel in Shanghai, China today, Friday Aug. 3 till Sunday Aug. 5.
The other Filipinos are 2007 Oslo, Norway Battle of Scandinavia 9-ball champion Roberto "Pinoy Superman" Gomez and 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball silver medalist Jeffrey De Luna, who replaced 2004 Taiwan World 9-ball Champion and 2005 US Open 9-ball Champion Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan.
The 34-year-old Alcano, who is fighting rape and child abuse cases filed against him by his teenage daughter before the Quezon City Prosecutors Office, is the only Filipino in the field who is assured a slot in the Grand Finale on August 31 to September 2 in Bali, Indonesia. He has compiled 110 points after the four city leg.
"I will do my very best for my flag and country, I'll hope in this last leg na manalo ako okaya kapwa Pilipino." said Alcano, in an exclusive interview with this writer at the Bugsy headquarters in Quezon City last Tuesday.
Alcano, comment on the rape and child abuse charges filed against him by his teenage daughter, "Matatapos din yan eh, pero s'yempre apektado tayo." Alcano has never won any major tournament since the cases were filed while the 2nd BSCP National Championships was on-going last March at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Meanwhile, Alcano's roommate Corteza, the 28-year-old top ace of Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) is eyeing to advance in the Grand Finale by accumulating a total of 80 points in the tournament.
"Kailangan kong makapasok sa semis sa Shanghai leg para makatiyak ako sa top 10 tungo sa Grand Finals sa Bali, 120 points ang kailangan para makasiguro sa top 10." Corteza said in a separate interview last Tuesday, fresh from a third place finish in the 2007 Cebu 9-ball challenge last Sunday which was won by Alex Pagulayan.
After the Shanghai leg, both Alcano and Corteza will also carry the country's colors when the 2007 US$50,000 winner-take all dubbed as International Challenge of Champions gets underway on August 9 to 10 at the Mohegan Suns Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut in USA.
In last year's edition, the Philippines swept the four legs of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour behind pool maestro Efren "Bata" Reyes, who won twice, and countrymen Rodolfo Luat and Ramil Gallego who took one leg each.
Up for grabs in the Shanghai tourney is a total prize purse of $50,000 as well as points to qualify for the Tour's Grand Finals in Bali on Aug. 31-Sept. 2, which will feature the top 10 players in the overall Order of Merit. Winners of each leg receive $15,000 while the grand champion will pocket $36,000 in the three-day, annual nation-hopping event organized by ESPN STAR Sports, Asia's number one sports broadcaster.
Taiwanese Chang Jung-lin topped this year's inaugural Jakarta leg on April 20-22 and also ruled the third leg in Genting Highlands in Malaysia on June 15-17. Another Taiwanese, Yang Ching-shun, topped the second leg in Kaohsiung on May 18-20 and the fourth leg in Singapore last July 13-15.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
JOVEN BUSTAMANTE VS. BOY DUCANES TO EARN SLOT AT WPC
AFTER Joven "The Shark" Bustamante won the 4th annual KIA International Billiard Championships in Korea, he now set his mind to join world class Filipino pool players in the main draw of the 2007 World Pool Championships on November 3-11 at the Araneta Coliseum, Cubao Quezon City.
"Paghahandaan ko 'yung laban namin ni Boy (Ducanes), World Pool slot na ang nakataya eh." The 28-year-old Bustamante said who just arrived from Korea last Tuesday.
He beat compatriot Bugsy stablemate Carlo Biado (7-2) in the semis and Go Takami of Japan (7-3) in the finals to bag the top prize of US$7,000 last Sunday at the Seoul Palace Hotel in Seoul, Korea which featured 64 players in the main draw that included 2 Filipinos, 1 Taiwanese, 1 American and 4 Japanese players.
"Pero ingat po ako kasi hindi basta-basta si Boy, beterano na iyan at nirerespeto sa pool world." Added Joven, the 2006 Abu Dhabi 8-ball champion and 2007 Fujairah World 8-ball semi-finalist.
According to Raya Sports president and BSCP chairman Yen Makabenta, a new slot for the WPC was opened for after Dennis Orcollo won the 2007 BCA enjoypool.com in Las Vegas, Nevada which automatically seeded Orcollo in the WPC.
Bacause of this, a play off match between Joven Bustamante, a distant relative of former world no.1 Francisco "Django" Bustamante and Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) bet Godofredo "Boy Cotabato" Ducanes, is needed after the duo settled 7th and 8th place respectively in this year's 2nd BSCP National Championships. The winner of the August 11 encounter will earn the right to play in the World Pool Championship, according to Makabenta.
Earlier, BSCP president Ernie Fajardo said that the top 6 finishers in the 2nd BSCP National Championships will automatically advance in the main draw of the WPC that includes the top 10 ranked players of the Guinness 9-ball tour circuit.
Aside from Orcollo and Django Bustamante, the other Pinoys seeded in the main draw of WPC are reigning WPC champ Ronato Alcano, 1999 WPC champ Efren "Bata" Reyes, 2004 WPC champ Alex Pagulayan, 2005 WPC semi-finalist Marlon Manalo, 2 nd BSCP National Championships winner Lee Vann Corteza, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball silver medalist Jeffrey de Luna, 2006 Japan Open winner Antonio Lining, 2006 Asian 9-ball tour winner Rodolfo Luat and Ramil Bebeng Gallego.
However, Filipino pool legend Jose "Amang" Parica, Santos Sambajon, Edwin Montal, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball gold and 8-ball silver medalist Antonio Gabica, Gandy Valle among others need to go through grueling qualifying round matches organized by Matchroom and Raya Sports. (Report from MARLON BERNARDINO).
"Paghahandaan ko 'yung laban namin ni Boy (Ducanes), World Pool slot na ang nakataya eh." The 28-year-old Bustamante said who just arrived from Korea last Tuesday.
He beat compatriot Bugsy stablemate Carlo Biado (7-2) in the semis and Go Takami of Japan (7-3) in the finals to bag the top prize of US$7,000 last Sunday at the Seoul Palace Hotel in Seoul, Korea which featured 64 players in the main draw that included 2 Filipinos, 1 Taiwanese, 1 American and 4 Japanese players.
"Pero ingat po ako kasi hindi basta-basta si Boy, beterano na iyan at nirerespeto sa pool world." Added Joven, the 2006 Abu Dhabi 8-ball champion and 2007 Fujairah World 8-ball semi-finalist.
According to Raya Sports president and BSCP chairman Yen Makabenta, a new slot for the WPC was opened for after Dennis Orcollo won the 2007 BCA enjoypool.com in Las Vegas, Nevada which automatically seeded Orcollo in the WPC.
Bacause of this, a play off match between Joven Bustamante, a distant relative of former world no.1 Francisco "Django" Bustamante and Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) bet Godofredo "Boy Cotabato" Ducanes, is needed after the duo settled 7th and 8th place respectively in this year's 2nd BSCP National Championships. The winner of the August 11 encounter will earn the right to play in the World Pool Championship, according to Makabenta.
Earlier, BSCP president Ernie Fajardo said that the top 6 finishers in the 2nd BSCP National Championships will automatically advance in the main draw of the WPC that includes the top 10 ranked players of the Guinness 9-ball tour circuit.
Aside from Orcollo and Django Bustamante, the other Pinoys seeded in the main draw of WPC are reigning WPC champ Ronato Alcano, 1999 WPC champ Efren "Bata" Reyes, 2004 WPC champ Alex Pagulayan, 2005 WPC semi-finalist Marlon Manalo, 2 nd BSCP National Championships winner Lee Vann Corteza, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball silver medalist Jeffrey de Luna, 2006 Japan Open winner Antonio Lining, 2006 Asian 9-ball tour winner Rodolfo Luat and Ramil Bebeng Gallego.
However, Filipino pool legend Jose "Amang" Parica, Santos Sambajon, Edwin Montal, 2006 Doha Asian games 9-ball gold and 8-ball silver medalist Antonio Gabica, Gandy Valle among others need to go through grueling qualifying round matches organized by Matchroom and Raya Sports. (Report from MARLON BERNARDINO).
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