PAGULAYAN, MANALO, GABICA, DE LUNA AND JOVEN VYING GUINNESS
DEFENDING champion, Taiwanese Chang Jung-lin is ready to defend the crown while Filipinos Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Marlon "Marvelous" Manalo will spearhead the country's campaign in the 2008 Guinness 9-Ball Tour that kicks off on February 29 to March 2 in Taipei, Taiwan.
Last year, Chang beat Filipino, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, 11-8, in the 2007 Guinness 9-Ball Tour Grand Finals held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bali, Indonesia where he clinched the title as the Tour's first ever Grand Champion and pocketing the top prize of US$36,000 as Asia's Pool King of 2007.
"Our biggest threat is the Taiwanese players but we are ready," said Manalo, the 2005 Taiwan World Pool Championships third placer.
Manalo, picked up former two-time Asian Games 9-Ball Gold Medalist Yang Ching Shun, nicknamed "The Son of Pool" as the toughest to beat, pointing out that he was "the best Taiwanese player with a powerful break and a fine all-around game."
Manalo also warned that Chang, ex-world 9-ball champions Wu Chia Ching and veteran Fong Pang Chao are also dangerous.
Other Filipinos who will see in action in the Taipei leg are Antonio "Ga-Ga" Gabica, Jeffrey "Jeff Bata" De Luna and new pool sensation Joven "The Shark" Bustamante.
"I have all the pressures because a lot of Filipinos are expecting me to play very well in this first leg of Taipei Guinness leg, besides nakaka nerbiyos kasi ako ang napili,"said the 29-year-old Bustamante, a distant relative of former world no.1 Francisco "Django" Bustamante.
Actually, the fifth and final slot for the Philippines was a toss-up between Joven, Corteza, Ronato Alcano and Roberto Gomez but the organizing committee chose Joven.
Joven made it to the semi-final round of the 2007 WPA World 8-Ball Championships in United Arab Emirates and the quarter-finals in the 2007 WPA World 9-Ball Championships in Manila. He also won the Korean Pro Tour last July and placed third in the same event last November.
Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) president Ernesto "Ernie" Fajardo is very optimistic that the Filipinos will perform well despite the sweep by the Taiwanese in all the legs in the last year's edition.
"Kailangan lamang tayo ang makauna sa first leg, para makuha natin ang momentum kahit mabigat kasi sa teritoryo nila ang first leg," said Fajardo.
BSCP picked Manalo, Gabica and De Luna while the organizing committee allotted the last two slots for Joven and Pagulayan, also this year's ambassador and endorser of Guinness, an Irish Stout Beer which is famous in Europe and some part of Asia.
NOTE:
Marlon Manalo, Antonio Gabica and Jeffrey de Luna are BSCP representatives, while Alex Pagulayan and Joven Bustamante, were both invited by the tournament organizer; Pagulayan is this year's endorser/ ambassador of Guinness Beer Drink
RAYA SPORTS WON THE FIVE-YEAR FRANCHISE FOR WORLD TEN BALL
RAYA Sports president and Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) chairman Yen Makabenta said that the Raya Sports and Events group won the five-year franchise for the WPA World Ten Ball Pool Championship.
"Yes, Raya Sports and Events won the five-year franchise for the WPA World Ten Ball Pool Championship" said Makabenta, the man who brought the WPA World 9-Ball Pool Championship to the Philippines for two straight years.
Makabenta, a journalist and speech writer for presidents and a passionate pool enthusiast, was named "Man of the Year" of the famed Billiards Digest (one of the most widely read and prestigious pool magazines in the world in 2006 for his contributions to Philippine Pool.
"This (Ten Ball) is the game our players excel in. And we will be at the front ranks in promoting Ten Ball as the new game of choice of pool professionals and fans," added Makabenta, as he welcomes the issuance of the Ten Ball rules as a big plus for Filipino pool.
According to Makabenta, World Pool Billiard Association (WPA) president Ian Anderson will be visiting Manila in early March for the formal signing of the agreement.
Makabenta and Anderson met each other in last year's WPA World 8-Ball In Fujairah, United Arab Emirates and talked about the inauguration of WPA World Ten Ball Pool Championship is slated on November.
Raya Sports and BSCP will stage the inauguration of Philippine Ten Ball Open set in May and will have a main draw of 128 players. First prize money is $20,000 and prizes will be given up to 32nd place.
In the Philippines, pro players play ten ball almost entirely in their one-on-one matches. "Pro players consider 9-ball too easy, so much so that higher-ranked players can be upset readily by lesser talents," says Sol Gueco, Raya tournament director. "Ten ball tests the players more, and lesser players must work extra hard to beat better players."
Meanwhile, the game of Ten Ball will be officially played in pool tournaments all over the world under new rules issued by the World Pool-Billiard Association, the international governing body for pool. And the official name is "Ten Ball", not 10-ball.
WPA President Ian Anderson has released the official rules for Ten Ball to all the member federations, promoters and pool news organizations. He said: "The game of Ten Ball has rapidly grown in popularity over the last few years and the WPA felt compelled to bring this game into official status and to eliminate any confusion concerning the game format by releasing a uniform rule set that players from all corners of the world may refer to and use as a common playing platform. We at the WPA look forward to witnessing the growth of the game of Ten Ball."
Ten Ball is the most popular game in the Philippines today. It is preferred by all professional players because of its greater complexity and difficulty. In comparison, 9-ball is considered easy.
The new rules designate Ten Ball as a call-shot game, differentiating it from 9-ball. They also mandate a power break at the start of every game, by requiring four object balls to be driven to one or more rails.
Anderson said: "As the governing body of pool the WPA is always excited by developments such as this that will help expand the horizons of our sport and bring in even more players and fans."
He urged all players, promoters and tournament officials to carefully study the new Ten Ball rule set and to utilize these rules in all Ten Ball competitions. "Players from every continent will benefit from the uniformity and consistency that this rule set will bring to the new discipline," Anderson said.
Contributed by MARLON BERNARDINO
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