CURRENT WPA 9-BALL AND WPA 8-BALL CHAMPION Ronato Alcano heads 11 other Filipino pool bets when they compete in the main draw of 2007 World Pool Championships on November 3 to 11 at the Araneta Colesium in Cubao, Quezon City.
"Grabe ang pressure pag ikaw ang current winner ng WPC, pero gagawin ko ang best ko. Hope Filipino pa din ang mananalo sa WPC," said the 34-yeard-old lanky cue artist Alcano, tagged as the "Volcano" in the world of pool after beating German hopeful Ralf Souquet in the finals of WPC in Manila last year.
Joining Alcano in the tournament proper according to Matchroom Sport, international organizer of the event, are 1999 WPC Cardiff titlist Efren "Bata" Reyes, 2004 WPC Taiwan titlist Alex Pagulayan, 2002 WPC Cardiff runner-up Francisco Bustamante, 2007 BCA Enjoypool.com champion Dennis Orcollo, reigning national champion Lee Van Corteza, Marlon Manalo, Antonio Lining, Ramil Gallego, Rodolfo Luat, Jeffrey de Luna, and Joven Bustamante.
Luke Riches, Matchroom media director, said that the 12 players are assured of official spots in the 128-main draw of the tournament. They will automatically enter the group stage of the WPC.
The Philippines will strive to retain the highly coveted World Pool Championship title and secure a record fourth world championship according to Yen Makabenta president of Raya Sports, the Philippine promoter and organizer of the tournament.
"With this roster of players, we believe we have a good chance of repeating this year," said Makabenta, also the chairman of the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) "If it's not Alcano, it could be anyone of the other 11. But the competition this time will be much tougher."
Other Filipino players could join the dozen if they gain an official spot via the 10 qualifying tournaments which are scheduled to take place on October 27-31 at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City. Last year, a total of 20 Filipino players qualified for the event.
So far, the US has the most number of qualified players for the WPC with 15. It is followed by the Philippines with 12 and Chinese Taipei with 8.
The 2007 WPC is being presented by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) in close cooperation with Department of Tourism (DOT). The entire tournament will be broadcast live for nine days by ESPN STAR Sports and ABC-5. Tickets to the event are on sale in all SM stores nationwide and at the Araneta Coliseum box office.
(Report from MARLON BERNARDINO)
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