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VETERAN
internationalist Warren Kiamco took the scalp of
compatriot Jeff de Luna with an 8-5 win to become the
third Filipino to advance to the next stage of the 2008
World 8-Ball Championship at the Amir Billiards Club in
Fujairah City, United Arab Emirates.
Coming
off an easy 8-2 victory over Amine Ouahbi of Mauritius,
the 37-year-old Kiamco, the lone entry of the
fast-rising Negros Billiards Stable of Jonathan Sy and a
member of the Billiards Managers and Players Association
of the Philippines, found de Luna a tough nut to crack
but nevertheless prevailed to join defending champion
Ronnie Alcano and Elvis Calasang in the round-of-32, the
start of the knockout stage.
Calasang
won his first two matches against Korean Ryu Seong Woo,
8-6, and Hong Kong ’s Siu Wai Au, 8-3.
Warren
Kiamco joins defending champion Ronnie Alcano and Elvis
Calasang in the knockout stage.
Current
world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo is the only other undefeated
Filipino. He won his first match over local bet Muhammed
al-Hosani, 8-4, and played Englishman Mark Gray late
Monday.
Kiamco’s
victory also provided a bright spot for the Philippine
participation in the eight-day competition, which dimmed
on the third day Sunday.
Last
year’s World Pool Championship (WPC) runner-up Roberto
Gomez failed to sustain his hot streak, as he bowed to
reigning World 10-Ball titlist Shane Van Boening of the
United States.
Gomez, a
stalwart of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions of
businessman Perry Mariano, engaged Van Boening into a
tight battle at the start, leading 3-2, before losing
steam that allowed the American to run up six
consecutive racks to win the match.
The loss
sent Gomez, who won his opening match against South
Africa’s Craig Bouwer, 8-4, to the one-loss side, where
he must beat Canadian Francis Crevier to make it to the
Last 32.
De Luna
was also relegated to the losers’ bracket and will face
countryman Alan Cuartero in a do-or-die match for a slot
to the next round. Cuartero lost to Malaysian Ibrahim
bin Amir, 8-4, in the first round but kept his bid alive
by beating Issa al-Boloshi of the UAE, 8-1.
Antonio
Gabica also failed to post his second win as he instead
bowed to Russian Ruslan Chinahov, 8-5, to also find
himself in the left side of the draw, where he must
survive against reigning WPC champ Darryl Peach of
England to avoid elimination.
Joven
Bustamante, on the other hand, succumbed to Englishman
Darren Appleton, 8-2, for his second straight setback
that made him the first Filipino to head for the exit, a
disappointing finish for the player who reached the
semifinals last year.
Joining
Alcano, Kiamco and Calasang in the Last 32 are Van
Boening, former champion Wu Chia-ching of
Chinese-Taipei, Marcus Chamat of Sweden, Fu Jianbo of
China, Neils Feijen of the Netherlands and Fahad
Mohamadi of Qatar. |
