PHILIPPINES BILLIARDS FELL SHORT IN BIG TOURNAMENTS
PHILIPPINE Billiards enjoyed its finest year in 2006, unfortunately, not this year, after Filipino pool sharks failed to win in major events including the most prestigious 9-ball tournament, the World Pool Championships, the US Open 9-Ball, the longest running 9-Ball competition in the United States, and Guinness Asian 9-Ball Tour, formerly SMB Asian 9-Ball Tour despite a magnificent performance of Hall of Famer Efren "Bata" Reyes.
Nice start in January 2007
The 53-year-old Reyes, of Puyat Sports, was $20,000 richer by winning the Derby City Classic Master of the Table Bonus last January 3 to 7 at the Executive West Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, the hometowns of former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali. Compatriots Rodolfo "Boy Samson" Luat and Francisco "Django" Bustamante completed the Filipinos 1-2-3 finish.
The charismatic cue artist from Angeles City, Pampanga bagged also his fourth straight Derby City Classic one-pocket billiards title at the expense of American Cliff Joyner.
In February 2007, neophyte Roberto Gomez and Jharome Peña failed to advance in the money round of 2007 Battle of Scandinavia 8-Ball Championships in Oslo, Norway but bounced back by occupying the top two spots in the 9-ball competition.
In March 2007, Ronato Alcano followed the foot steps of Reyes and Taiwanese Wu Chia-chiang, to become a title-holder in both the WPA 9-Ball and WPA 8-Ball competitions.
The 34-year-old lanky cue artists Alcano from Calamba City, Laguna grabbed his second straight world title in the World 8-Ball Championship in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates at the expense of compatriot Dennis Orcollo.
It was the second straight all-Filipino finale in the biggest 8-ball competition in the world. Reyes toppled Marlon Manalo in the 2004 edition.
Joven Bustamante, a former teaching pro in the Middle East, introduced himself on the big stage with an impressive third place finish in the event that ran from March 1-8.
Alcano's victory made him only the third player in history to win a world title in 8-ball and 9-ball.
Efren "Bata" Reyes, considered by many as the greatest pool player of all time, was the first, winning the world 8-ball title four times and the world 9-ball title once.
Wu pulled off the trick by topping the 2005 WPC and the World 8-Ball the following year.
Before the World 8-Ball, Alcano settled for second place with eventual winner Mika Immonen of Finland in the Korea Pro Pool Tour Championships last February 10-13 at the Lotte Department Store in Incheon, Korea to pocket the runner-up prize of $4,000.
Alcano failed to sustain his winning form due to child abuse controversy?
Alcano failed to sustain his winning form in the local scene after a magnificent performance in the World 8-Ball did find himself on the papers, on the front page no less, during the opening round of the 2nd BSCP National Open. But the story was about the rape and child abuse charges filed against him by his 14-year-old daughter. The news rocked Alcano and Philippine Billiards.
Lee Vann Corteza, the top player of the rising Negros Billiards Stable honcho Jonathan Sy, topped the 2nd BSCP National Open after edging Marlon Manalo in the finals.
Irish Rañola and Mary Ann Basas stole the limelight from top player Rubilen Amit on the distaff side. Rañola, the more seasoned of the two, raced to a big lead early and held on to win the crown.
Amit rebounded strongly in the Women's World 9-Ball Championship in Tao Yuan, Taipei, Taiwan.
The 25-year-old dead-ringer of actress/singer Aiza Seguerra finished second in the toughest tournament for lady cue artists while beating two former world champions along the way.
She lost to Xiao-Ting Pan of China in the finals to settle for the $10,000 runner-up prize.
But Amit created the biggest wave in the event as she claimed the heads of five-time champion Allison Fisher and two-time winner Ga-Young Kim of South Korea in the early rounds.
The country's top female player eliminated Fisher in the group play with a 5-3 win and ousted Kim, 7-2, in the quarterfinals.
Former World No.1 Bustamante earned an ourtight WPC ticket
Another Puyat Sports top player Francisco "Django" Bustamante bested American Johnny Archer in the finals of UPA US Pro Tour Championships last March 27 to April 1at the Normandie Casino in Los Angeles, California to earned him an outright ticket to the World Pool Championships (WPC) plus the top prize of $10,000.
Bustamante claimed another championship trophy in the one pocket competition of Hard Times Summer Jamboree in Sacramento , California. Bustamante completed an undefeated week in the middle of June by ruling the Hard Times 9-Ball Summer Jamboree.
Big Letdown
After sweeping the Asian 9-Ball Tour last year, the Filipinos failed to win a single leg this time.
The shutout was inexplicable.
The country sent its best players in the nation-hopping tour although Reyes, a multiple leg and three-time overall tour champion, didn't join along with Bustamante.
The two were commercial models of the San Miguel Corporation, a rival company of Guinness – the tour's title sponsor this year.
Corteza, the national champ, bowed to Chang Jung-ling, 5-11, in the opening leg at the Sultan Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia .
They met again in the tour's grand final at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bali, Indonesia with Jung reasserting his supremacy over Corteza, 11-8.
In between the Indonesia stops, the Filipinos failed to even reach the finals of the tour they dominated in the first four years.
"I don't know what hit us in the tour," said BSCP president Ernesto "Ernie" Fajardo. "I guess the law of averages caught up with us."
The Filipinos' inability to finish strong was amplified in the succeeding major tournaments namely the US Open and the mother of all tournaments – the World Pool Championship.
The single biggest disappointment among the local players this season was Reyes himself. The most popular cue artist in the world went on a year-long dry spell in major tournaments.
He was on fire last year, winning two legs and the overall championship in the Asian Tour, and claiming the title and the $500,000 top prize in the International Pool Tour.
He also combined with Bustamante to top the inaugural World Cup of Pool Scotch Doubles Championship.
But nagging pains on his fingers, stiffening neck and occasional shaking of hands proved too much to handle for the game's living legend.
He's winless in 9-ball and 8-ball events and crashed out in the first round of the knockout phase in the WPC. He and Bustamante also bowed to eventual winners Li He-wen and Fu Jian-bo of China in the quarterfinals of the World Cup of Pool.
Reyes capped his uneventful season with a loss to Wu in the quarterfinals of the 2007 All Japan Championship. Wu proceeded to win the title.
So Close yet so far
The talented Filipino pool players had no problem reaching the hill in major tournaments all season. But they somehow found it hard to go over it.
Aside from the near misses in the Asian 9-Ball Tour and the WPC, a Filipino also flirted with the championship and a historic feat in the US Open.
Alcano got a rare chance of completing a hat-trick in pool – winning three major titles in a row – when he reached the finals of the US Open against American Shane Van Boening.
But steady play from the deaf cue artist and – reports said – suspicious racking by the hometown referee cost the Filipino an exclusive place in pool history.
SUPERMAN ON THE RISE
After a dominant showing in the group play, the Filipinos struggled in the first round of the knockout phase.
The Philippines sent 13 players in the main draw, the most by any country in the competition.
But eight, mostly the superstars, crashed out early in the Round of 64.
In the end, unheralded Roberto Gomez was left to carry the fight for the Filipinos. He fell short, just like his compatriots in big tournaments late in the season.
On the flipside, the rise of young guns like Gomez gives the country something to look forward to in the sport where we are expected to dominate.
Gomez, 29, became the first ever player out of the qualifying stage to reach the finals of the biggest pool event in the world.
The former ABS-CBN provincial correspondent, nicknamed Filipino Superman by the local media because of his looks and built, was flawless in the preliminary and the first five rounds of the knockout stage.
He opened his campaign in the knockout with a 10-1 win over veteran internationalist Alex Lely of the Netherlands.
"After beating Lely I felt lighter and more confident," said Gomez. "No matter what happens I know that I'll have a better finish than last year."
Seeded first heading into the knockout stage, Gomez bowed to Alcano in the Round of 64 last year.
With the proverbial monkey off his back, Gomez cruised through the succeeding rounds.
He manhandled two-time world champion Chao Fong-pang of Taiwan, 10-2, and Europe's top rated player Niels Feijen, 11-0, in the next two rounds.
In the quarterfinals, Gomez raced to a 6-0 lead and held off the late charge of former WPC finalist Kuo Po-cheng of Taiwan, 11-4.
He got off on a wrong foot in the semifinals, falling 0-4 against England's No. 1 player Karl Boyes, but the end result was the same, an 11-4 triumph.
The finals followed an entirely different storyline.
The pitiful sight of Gomez, teary eyed after squandering a 15-12 lead, had been played and replayed all over the world.
The Filipino Superman fell to a spitting image of Lex Luthor, a skinhead from England named Daryl Peach.
"The nerves got the better of me," admitted Gomez. "I felt bad because I know that I let my countrymen down. But I'll make sure to make up for it in future events."
Still, his achievement didn't go unnoticed. "For me Gomez is the best player in the WPC," said Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) chairman Yen Makabenta. "He just picked the wrong time to lose."
RP CUE BOUNCED BACK AFTER WPC TILT
The Filipino pool cue bounced back after failing to retain the WPC crown, The Philippine team represented by Marlon Manalo, Gandy Valle, Ronato Alcano, Antonio Gabica and Jeffrey de Luna defetead Rest of the World which are composed of Rodney Morris, Marcus Chamat, Karl Boyles, Darren Appleton and John Higgins in the SMC Kabayan World Tour in Calapan City, Mindoro last Nov.12-13. Then Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan took the Negros Oriental International Open crown beating compatriot Ramil Gallego in the all- Filipino finals last Nov.14-17 in Dumaguete City.
SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES
The Filipino pool players finished with three (3) golds, two (2) silvers and four (4) bronzes in the just concluded 24th Southeast Asian Games at the Sima Thani Hall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
The gold medals in billiards came from Gabica and Marlon Manalo in the Men's 9-Ball Pool Doubles, Ronato Alcano in the Men's 8-Ball Pool Singles and Rubilen Amit in the Women's 9-Ball Pool Singles.
Lee Vann Corteza and Mary-Ann Basas, both from Davao City failed to deliver more golds in billiards after losing their respective assigments in the championships round.The 28-year-old Corteza, prize fighter of Jonathan Sy's Negros Billiard Stable (NBS) bowed to Indonesian Ricky Yang, 11-8, in the 9-ball pool finals while Basas yielded to Santhinee Jaisuekul of Thailand, 4-3, in the finals of Women's 6 Snooker Singles. The other bronzes came in the Men's Snooker Doubles and in the Women's 8-Ball Pool Singles.
Gold: Marlon Manalo and Antonio Gabica (Men's 9-Ball Pool Doubles)
Gold: Ronato Alcano (Men's 8-Ball Pool Singles)
Gold: Rubilen Amit (Women's 9-Ball Pool Singles)
Silver: Lee Vann Corteza (Men's 9-Ball Pool Singles)
Silver: Mary-Ann Basas (Women's 6 Snooker Singles)
Bronze: Antonio Gabica (Men's 9-ball Pool Singles)
Bronze: Iris Ranola (Women's 6 Snooker Singles)
Bronze: Benjie Guevarra and James Al Ortega (Men's Snooker Doubles)
Bronze: Rubilen Amit (Women's 8-Ball Pool Singles)
The Philippines, indeed, is a force to reckon with in the world of pool this year. And, by the looks of it, things are not about to change in 2008.
Report from MARLON BERNARDINO
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