|
THE
greatest pool show on earth certainly didn’t show up in
the cash register. And that could weigh heavily on the
country’s chances of hosting the World Pool
Championships (WPC) next year.
According to Luke Riches, spokesman of worlds chief
organizer Matchroom Sport, local coordinator Raya Sports
has an option to host the event for a third straight
year next year, although Riches admitted that there are
“many countries” who are interested in the WPC and are
bidding to get it.
“Raya
[Sports] has some sort of a right of first refusal. But
we haven’t received any word from [Yen] Makabenta
whether they would exercise it or pass it up,” said
Riches.
FORMER world champion
Ronnie Alcano (below), who lost to American Rodney
Morris in a tournament in Mindoro yesterday, gives some
belated piece of advice to 2007 runner-up Roberto Gomez.
-- NONOY
LACZA and ROY DOMINGO
“Maybe
after this, we’ll sit down with him and see whether
we’ll have a third coming here or it will be held
elsewhere,” he added.
Makabenta, chairman of Raya Sports, was not available
for comment. He has made himself scarce, especially to
the media. In the finals, he was nowhere in any of the
patrons seat, but was in one of the private rooms of the
Araneta Coliseum watching the match on television.
Ironically, that’s what most of the Filipinos did during
the weeklong event: They sat at the comfort of their
living rooms to watch pool. Although exact figures are
not available, attendance to the WPC suffered with the
Big Dome nearly empty for most of the tournament.
According to one of the staff members of Raya Sports,
the turnout was way behind the group’s expectation.
Makabenta had expressed confidence that the event would
attract a massive live audience, predicting that
spectators numbering 6,000 the most would troop to the
Araneta Coliseum.
Last
year, the WPC was at the homier confines of the
Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) along
Roxas Boulevard.
Organizers decided to transfer the event to the Big
Dome, theorizing that the bigger the venue, the more
people would come. That never happened until the days
leading to the finals Sunday.
Makabenta’s staff explained though that Raya Sports
saved a few million pesos with the transfer. PICC was
charging P7 million, while the Araneta Coliseum rent
reached P4.3 million, although the Big Dome had a share
of ticket sales. Makabenta had admitted that the event
lost some P10 million last year.
If the
Philippines hopes to host the WPC again, it may not be
in Metro Manila anymore. The provincial government of
Cebu is reportedly interested in hosting the event next
year.
Meanwhile, WPC runner-up Roberto Gomez said he will be
haunted by his late-game collapse in the finals Sunday,
and only nothing less than a championship will wipe off
the bitter taste of his sorry defeat.
“Grabe,
mas masakit ngayon,” Gomez said, a day after blowing
his golden chance of becoming just the fourth Filipino
to wear the crown of the most prestigious billiards
tournament in world.
“I’m
more depressed now and every time I think of it.
Sayang na sayang talaga, andoon na ako pero hindi ko pa
rin nakuha,” he added.
Even
with all the attention he has gotten and the P1.76
million he cashed in as losing finalist to Daryl Peach
of England, Gomez said he feels he didn’t earn anything,
adding that being the last Filipino standing doesn’t
offer any consolation.
“Sabi
nga ng family at mga kaibigan ko wala akong dapat
ikahiya. Hindi naman talaga ako nahihiya, pero parang
pakiramdam ko na hindi kumpleto,” said Gomez, 29, a
former provincial correspondent of ABS-CBN.
Former
world champion Ronnie Alcano thought Gomez shouldn’t
have abandoned the style that worked well for Gomez
during the final, an adjustment Alcano said that proved
detrimental to Gomez’s campaign.
“Sana
pinagpatuloy na lang niya ’yung
soft break,” Alcano said.
Gomez
went to the power break in the semis and in the finals,
proverbially fixing something that wasn’t broke. Prior
to the semis, Gomez dropped an impressive nine racks in
only four rounds. He used the power break for the first
time against Karl Boyes of England in the semis. He won
the match, 11-4.
Alcano,
who lost to Peach in the round of 64, also said that
pressure clearly got into Gomez, who was competing for
only the second time in the prestigious event.
“Sinabihan
ko na siya na isipin niya maglaro lang dahil kapag
iniisip niya na gusto niyang manalo, darating ang kabog,”
Alcano said.
“Pero
marami pa siyang mararating. Hindi naman papasok sa
finals ’yan kung hindi siya magaling,” he added.
“I don’t
know kung mabibigyan pa ulit ng ganoong pagkakataon,
pero ipagpapatuloy ko pa rin ang paghahangad na makuha
’yang World Pool title para makumpleto na ako,”
Gomez said.
In
Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, Rodney Morris and Karl
Boyes posted victories to give the World Team an early
lead in the Kabayan-San Miguel Beer World 9-Ball
Challenge: Philippines vs. Rest of the World yesterday
at the Filipiniana Hotel.
Morris
of the US defeated Alcano, 6-4, while Boyes of England
posted a 7-3 win over Antonio Gabica in the event
sponsored by San Miguel Corp., Pagcor and PCSO with the
help of the Office of the Vice President Noli de Castro
and Oriental Mindoro Second District Rep. Alfonso P.A.
Umali and Rod Valencia.
Marlon
Manalo was poised for a win but was forced to a 5-5 draw
with Marcus Chamat of Sweden in the tournament also
supported by Sporteum Inc., Brunswick, the Manila Times,
BusinessMirror, dzSR Sports Radio, Sebastian Chua and
Bugsy Promotion and sanctioned by the Billiards and
Snooker Congress of the Philippines.
The
World Team leads the series, 5-1, in a Mosconi
Cup-patterned format.
Each
player will face all the players from the opposing team
in a single-round format. A win gives the team, two
points, a draw one point, and a loss none.
In case
of a tie, the team with the most number of racks will
win the $20,000 top prize. The runner-up gets to receive
$10,000. (With Reuben Terrado) |
