Friday, June 13, 2008

LINING, ESQUILLO, BALITON JOINING JAPAN TOURNEY

FILIPINO pool wizards Antonio "Nikoy" Lining, Roel Esquillo and Crisencio "Ato" Baliton will see action in some series of tournaments in Japan starting next week.

The triumvirate will first play in the Kyousho Open on June 15-16 in Fukuoka before proceeding to Tokyo for the annual Nine Ball Festival on June 21-22 which offers about P280,000 to the champion.

"We hope to perform well in Japan Circuit," said Japan-based veteran international campaigner Esquillo, who made it to the quarterfinals in this year's Japan Open which dominated by compatriots Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo and Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, respectively.

"We train hard for this event (Japan Circuit), we expect good results," added Plaridel, Bulacan native Baliton, the 2006 Astro Open and TPCC Open Champion in Japan.

Lining, Esquillo and Baliton are also scheduled to play in the Shikoku Open on June 28-29 in Osaka then proceed to the 14.1 championships on July 19-21 in Tokyo where Lining is defending the 14.1 championships'trophy.

contributed by MARLON BERNARDINO, edited by jovie sison

CHINESE WOMEN'S CHAMPION JOINS PPT PALAWAN LEG

THE women's champion and six top male players of the People's Republic of China will see action in the Puerto Princesa Mayor's Cup scheduled on June 16 to 22.

Ms. Li Jia, a Chinese player based in Japan, became the first female player to join the ten ball event, which is open to both sexes.

The male players are Li He-Wen, Fu Jian-Bo, Zhang Shu-Chun, Wang Ming, Dang Jin-Hu and Jiang Yang-Yi.

Li and Fu are familiar names in the annual 9-ball world championship and the Guinness pool tour. Li made it all the way to the semifinals in the 2006 WPC in Manila.

Organized by the Billiards & Snooker Congress of the Philippines, the Puerto Princesa Cup is divided into two stages. Stage 1, the Elimination Round, will take place at the Star Billiards Center on June 16-17. Stage 2, the Main Tournament, moves to Puerto Princesa City, where 32 players will compete for the top prize at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum on June 20-22.

The seven Chinese players will all see action in Stage 1.

Hosted by Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn and presented by San Miguel Beer, the Puerto Princesa Cup offers a prize fund of $30,000. First prize is $10,000. All players who make it to the group of 32 are guaranteed cash prizes.

Dubbed as "the City in the forest" because of its location amidst well-preserved forests and lush vegetation, Puerto Princesa has hosted many major sports events in the country, including the recent Palarong Pambansa. It has wide appeal to athletes and sports fans because of the chance it provides for both sports competition and a holiday in a resort.

The Puerto Princesa Mayor's Cup is the second leg of the Philippine Pool Tour, which opened with the Mandaluyong Mayor's Cup in Mandaluyong City on May 6-11.

Registration in the second tournament is ongoing at the Star Billiards Center and Raya Sports office. Players can also register online at: www.rayasports.com.

contributed by MARLON BERNARDINO, edited by jovie sison

CHANG BEATS GABICA, TOPS GENTING LEG OF GUINNESS 9-BALL

FILIPINO Antonio "Ga-Ga" Gabica failed to end the Taiwanese domination of the 2008 Guinness 9-Ball Tournament as he bowed to eventual champion Chang Jung-lin, 11-6, in the finals of the third leg of the tournament held at the Genting International Convention Center in Malaysia.

With the win, Chang received the top prize of US$15,000 and post his third consecutive leg victory after winning the Taipei (Taiwan) and Penang (Malaysia) leg, respectively.

Actually, the 36-year-old Lapu-Lapu City native Gabica, member of the star-studded Philippine Billiards Development Foundation (PBDF) rallied in the opening game by winning four consecutive racks to tie the game at 4-all.

Gabica had a chance to seize the lead in the 9th frame but miss No.9 ball shot giving Chang to control the game at 5-4 then the latter's (Chang) clustered five consecutive racks to reach the hill at 10-4 count.

Gabica won the next two racks after Chang suffered a dry break in the 16th racks to close the gap at 10-6 before Chang finish the game at 11-6.
Semis

Gabica, the country's most underrated pool player today rallied from three racks deficit (3-6) to beat Taiwanese Wang Hung-Hsiang in come-from-behind, 9-7, victory yesterday to book the second finals seat .

With the win, Gabica prevented what seemed an all Taiwanese finals when he met Chang in the finals, who earlier beat Ryu Seung Woo of Korea, 9-2.

After Gabica failed to sink the No.9 ball in the 15th rack, he didn't waste time to clean up the table after Wang missed a corner pocket shot at No.2 ball in the 16th racks for a 9-7 triumph.

On the road to the final four, Gabica nipped Yang Ching-shun of Taiwan, 9-7, while Chang smashed Li He-wen of China, 9-0.

Other Filipinos who competed in the tournament were Alex Pagulayan and Marlon Manalo who both failed to reach the knockout part of the tournament. Joven Bustamante, on the other hand reached the quarter-finals.

contributed by MARLON BERNARDINO, edited by jovie sison

TAIWANESE WU AND CHANG WILL JOIN PUERTO PRINCESA 10-BALL CUP

MANILA, PHILIPPINES---2005 double world champion Wu Chia-Ching and reigning Guinness 9-ball champion Chang Jung-Lin will lead a Taiwanese contingent of six players in the Puerto Princesa Mayor's Cup of the Philippine Pool Tour which begins on June 16.

This was announced Wednesday (May 28) by Mr. Tu Yung-Hui, president of the Chinese Taipei Billiards Association, in a letter to the PPT organizing committee.

Organized by the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) and
presented by San Miguel Corporation, the Puerto Princesa ten ball event will be hosted by Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn. It will take place in two stages: Stage 1 (Elimination Rounds) on June 16-17 at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City, and Stage 2 (Main Tournament) on June 19-22 at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum in the capital of Palawan.

The four other Taiwanese players are Ko Pin-Yi, the reigning 2007 world junior champion, Lu Hui-Chan, Kuo Chun-Nan, and Chung Chien-Te. The 18-year-old Ko has had recent success playing in the big leagues. He won the Supercup in Taiwan in December last year and a tournament in Bangkok in April this year, beating Filipino Dennis Orcullo in the finals. And he was one of 16 players who saw action at the recent World Poolmasters in Las Vegas.

The PPT organizing committee has awarded Wu and Chang PPT Tour Cards by virtue of their achievements in the WPA world championships and the Guinness 9-Ball Tour. A PPT Tour Card guarantees the cardholder an automatic spot in Stage 2 of the PPT leg in Puerto Princesa.

Chung also earned a Stage 2 spot by virtue of his placing in the top 16 of the Mandaluyong Mayor's Cup last May 6-11.

Ko, Lu and Kuo will see action in Stage 1 of the tournament.

The Puerto Princesa Cup has a prize fund of $30,000. A top prize of $10,000 goes to the winner of the championship. Prizes are awarded up to 32nd place.

The tournament is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiards Union (APBU) and listed in the 2008 calendar of events of the World Pool-Billiards Association (WPA).

contributed by MARLON BERNARDINO, edited by jovie sison