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BILLIARDS officials are confident of getting a gold
medal in the eight-ball competitions of the 24th
Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December.
Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP)
chairman Yen Makabenta said: “Sure gold tayo sa
eight-ball. “It is a more complex game. We have that
advantage.”
 National
Open champion Lee Van Corteza and Dennis Orcollo are
entered in the men’s eight-ball singles while World
Women’s Pool Championship runner-up Rubilen Amit and
Iris Rañola will compete in the women’s contest.
Makabenta said the 9-ball event is a wide open race with
Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore as the contenders.
“Magiging
unpredictable sa 9-ball,” Makabenta said. 2006
world champion Ronato Alcano and Asian Games gold
medalist Antonio Gabica will play in the men’s 9-ball
singles while Marlon Manalo and Gabica will team up in
the doubles.
BSCP
president Ernie Fajardo decided not to predict on their
medal output and said Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and
Indonesia will contend for the medals.
“Gumagaling
na ang mga pool players nila,” said Fajardo.
“But I believe that we can still maintain and retain our
supremacy in pool in Southeast Asia.”
In
snookers, Fajardo is optimistic because Manalo will
compete in the singles and the six-red ball singles
event. Manalo is a former Asian champion before shifting
to pool to join money-rich tournaments.
“Manalo
is still one of our best players in snookers,” said
Fajardo.
Manalo
will be joined by James Al Ortega in the singles and
Rodolfo Lordan in the six-red ball snooker singles.
The
Philippines won eight gold medals in the 2005 SEA Games
but will miss three-time gold medalist Alex Pagulayan,
who was dropped by the association.
*****
De luna takes ‘Pacquiao’ title
Jeffrey
“Jeff Bata” De Luna capped an eventful week with a
wire-to-wire 11-9 victory over Dennis Orcollo in the
finals of the Manny Pacquiao International 9-Ball Open
Saturday night at the Entertainment Center of the SM
Mall of Asia.
De luna
went undefeated in seven games, enhancing his status as
one of the country’s top pool players today.
After
winning the leg, the power-breaking cue artist rolled to
a 6-0 lead and cooled off Orcollo’s repeated rallies
with brilliant and timely shot making.
“Hindi
bumibitiw si Dennis. Kung hindi naging maganda
ang umpisa ko, malamang kinapos ako sa huli,” said
de luna, one of the country’s representatives in the
Kabayan World 9-Ball Challenge: Philippines vs. Rest of
the World.
His
victory earned him his biggest paycheck yet—P1 million
courtesy of tournament host Manny Pacquiao. De luna
netted P850,000 from the government after winning the
silver medal in the Doha Asian Games in 2006.
Orcollo,
the world’s acknowledged money game king, settled for
P500,000.
De Luna
booked a seat in the finals after toppling fellow
power-breaker Rodolfo “Boy Samson” Luat, 10-6. Orcollo
manhandled Sta. Cruz, Laguna standout Michael Feliciano,
10-2.
Luat and
Feliciano took home P150,000 each.
“Timing
ang pagkakapanalo ko dahil parehong may sakit ang
dalawang anak ko,” said De Luna, dedicating the
victory to his wife Ian, son Alexander and daughter
Alexandra.
The
23-year-old is on a roll recently, topping the Pool
Showdown twice at the expense of Ricky Zerna and Panfilo
Damuag. |
