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THE race
is wide open in the inaugural offering of the World Ten
Ball Championship (WTBC), which gets going today at the
Philippine International Convention Center.
And the
Philippine campaign lies heavily on 12 Filipinos, led by
Antonio Gabica, Marlon Manalo and Jeff de Luna. They are
among 128 players from 42 countries hoping to snatch the
title and the fat purse of $400,000 that goes with it.
“We did
our homework for this tournament. Hindi naman kami
sasalang dito ng hindi kami handa,” said Manalo, one
of the few veterans who will try to give the country a
good showing in this tournament sanctioned by the World
Pool Association (WPA) and organized by Raya Sports.
“It’s
anybody’s game here. Kahit sino puwedeng manalo.
Basta kami, ibibigay namin ang lahat at Siya [God]
na ang bahala,” added Manalo.
The
other Filipino bets in the main draw are Elmer Kalaquian,
Elvis Calasang, Jerico Banares, Mario Tolentino, Edgar
Acaba, Arnel Bautista, Demosthenes Pulpul, Leonardo
Didal and Victor Arpilleda.
But
Manalo and company are expected to encounter stiff
challenge from bets from Europe, Chinese Taipei and the
United States, among others.
Ralph
Souquet, Germany’s star player, still believes that the
Philippines has strong representatives in the tournament
and the absence of acknowledged stars such as Efren
“Bata” Reyes, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Ronnie
Alcano and Alex Pagulayan do not diminish the chances of
the host country.
“I think
the Philippines is still well-represented here,” said
Souquet, the world 8-ball champion. “They are good
enough to win the crown.”
Other
notable entries from Europe are world 9-Ball champions
Daryl Peach of Great Britain and Thorsten Hohmann of
Germany, World Straight Pool titlist Neils Feijen of the
Netherlands, Oliver Ortmann and Thomas Engert.
Taipei has the
most number of entries with 13, while the US has 11,
including Mexican Oscar Dominguez.
The
Americans will be bannered by two-time World 9-Ball
champion Johnny Archer and Shane Van Boening. |
