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

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