FILIPINO BILLIARD CLUB

www.manilastandardtoday.com
By Ronnie Nathanielsz

AMERICANS Shane Van Boening and Rodney Morris won the World Cup of Pool and in a way, avenged their loss to the Philippines in the inaugural tournament in 2006, when Efren “Bata” Reyes and Django Bustamante whipped the tandem of Morris and the temperamental Earl Strickland.

This time around, the US, with Van Boening teaming up with Morris, beat Bustamante and world no. 1 Dennis Orcollo in a tough semifinal match en route to winning the trophy and pocketing the top prize of $60,000.

Morris and Van Boening defeated England’s Daryl Peach, winner of the 2007 World Pool Championship in Manila, and Europe’s no. 1 Mark Gray, 11-7, in the finals at the Outland nightclub, in the port city of Rotterdam, Holland.

Luke Riches of Matchroom Sports in a report to www.insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports, quoted Morris as saying: “This is a major tournament, a world event, a world title, so to win this is just awesome. We didn’t perform at our best in the beginning of the tournament, but that’s why we were seeded and we felt good and gelled nicely. Shane is a good partner because he never misses. I think we peaked at the right time and got a nice rhythm. Shane got me playing a little smarter and tighter and got me concentrating.”

Morris revealed that it was “more special for me to see Shane win and I was trying hard not to let him down. I’m just happy we made it and it’s a relief. I didn’t want to let my team down and that keeps me tight.”

Van Boening, the youthful American sensation, was representing the US for the first time in this tournament and he believes that along with Morris, they made a bit of history.

“Winning this means we are the first American team to win it and that really means something,” said Van Boening. “We didn’t know each other very well, but we got along well and had a good time. We’re looking forward to coming back here next year as well and defending our title. I played good and we broke well and ran a couple of racks. We got the break figured out and played at our best.”

This was the third staging of the World Cup of Pool, which this year was sponsored by PartyPoker.net.

The victory wiped out the painful memory of 2006, when USA lost in the final.

Morris was part of the American side, along with Strickland, that lost, 13-5, to Philippine. He admitted he had been more determined to win as a result.

“It’s a big relief but it feels really good,” said Morris. “I didn’t want to get to the final again and lose. We felt we were big favorites in our own mind and the semifinal victory over the Philippines was like winning the final for us. Obviously, it wasn’t but beating the Philippines gave us that extra confidence.”

www.worldcupofpool.com
Philippines closing in on more World Cup glory

PHILIPPINES continued their assault on regaining the World Cup of Pool trophy.

Orcollo broke from the right side of the table in the seventh but it turned out to be his third dry break of the match and a nice pot on the 1 ball set things up. Kawabata though over ran the cue ball going from 8 to 9 and Oi missed the tough cut on the 9. The Philippines downed the 9 to go 5-2 ahead.

A thunderous Bustamante break left a good looking table but Orcollo missed the 1 ball. Japan though fouled and with ball in hand, the Philippines stormed into a 6-2 lead.

They took the next from the break and then Orcollo played a delicate nudge on the 1 ball into the centre pocket to give his team a great chance to reach the hill. Looking in control, Bustamante and Orcollo ran out to reach the hill at 8-2.

A dry break from Orcollo saw Japan have a last gasp attempt to salvage the match. A safety saw Bustamante mess up on the 1 ball and offer Kawabata a chancey 1/9 combo. He missed and left a 2/9 in the bottom left corner.

Orcollo knocked in the long 1 ball and his partner completed the combination to put Team Philippines into the semi-finals where they will meet Team USA. http://www.worldcupofpool.com

www.manilastandardtoday.com
By Ronnie Nathanielsz

WE have consciously sought to stay away from the debilitating quarrel between two factors in Philippine pool, that at times has degenerated into a level of arrogance and meanness that cannot but hurt the sport and distress the millions of Filipinos, who support the sport in its various formats.

That’s because close friends of many summers are positioned on either side and if we have any interest at all, it’s in trying to bring the two factions together in the interest of the sport, the many fine players that the country has bred and a public that should never be deprived of seeing the very best represent the Philippines.

This should be the underlying principle, whether it be in regional competitions such as the Southeast Asian Games and Asian Games or pro tournaments like the Guinness 9-Ball Tour, the World Pool Championships and the recent World 10-Ball Championships.

However, while in Cebu to cover two excellent boxing promotions back-to-back in Talisay and Naga City, we read a Standard Today story quoting World Pool Association president Ian Anderson who, when asked about the absence of pool legends Efren “Bata” Reyes, Django Bustamante, former World Pool Champions Ronnie Alcano and Alex Pagulayan and reigning world no. 1 Dennis Orcollo, replied that the quality of play will not diminish and that they are not the only top world players. He went on to state that the absence of Reyes, Bustamante and Pagulayan “won’t matter in the event.”

If Anderson dared watch television, he would have realized that their absence did matter because the crowds were sparse to say that least, so much so that at one point, Ted Lerner had to seat the few fans behind him and ask them to make a much noise as possible.

Besides, for Anderson to downgrade the likes of Reyes, who is acknowledged as the greatest pool player of all time and a Time magazine awardee is an affront to all of us, who have thrilled at the exploits of The Magician and others and enjoyed their demeanor both at the table and away from it. The flag-waving overseas workers, who crowned venues in the Middle East and Europe, whenever Reyes and his buddies play is a testament to their admiration for the quality of their game and affection for such simple, down-to-earth individuals, who are a tribute to our country.

Of course, Anderson had to probably say that he said because the WPA earns a percentage of the prize money as sanction fees and he knows, at least for the present, where his bread is buttered.

To stage a $400,000 tournament in Manila amid the absence of the superstars of Philippine pool was like giving good money away to the foreign players without a decent fight with the notable exception of Demosthenes Pulpul.

It becomes even more questionable when the major sponsors were government owned or controlled entities such as Pagcor and the Department of Tourism, who skimp in support of our national sports programs, but somehow found the funds to support this tournament, which did nothing to enhance the reputation of the Philippines being the epicenter of pool. That honor was deservedly earned as a result of the tremendously successful World Pool Championships, staged by Raya Sports, headed by Yen Makabenta in 2006 and 2007 when our best players completed, with Ronnie Alcano being crowned champion in 2006 and Roberto Gomez finishing runner-up in 2007.

The crowds were there in full force, particularly at the PICC in 2006, while nowhere near those numbers showed up at the 10-Ball Event.

If government supports such events with substantial funding, it is incumbent on those responsible to find out, who is playing and whether we can get the kind of exposure that justifies the investment. Beyond that, if government considered it an investment, then rather than follow the example of GSIS president Winston Garcia, who refuses to provide details of foreign investments with the money of its members claiming confidentiality, they need to release information because the public has a right to know. http://www.manilastandardtoday.com

Orcollo, Django vow to regain World Cup title 
www.philstar.com

Reigning world No.1 Dennis Orcollo and Francisco “Django” Bustamante left yesterday for Holland, confident of their chances in the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool which gets going tomorrow in Rotterdam.

The Filipino duo will be trying to reclaim the crown won by Bustamante and pool icoin Efren “Bata” Reyes in 2006 from the defending champions Fu Jian Bo and Li He-wen of China.

“I like our chances,” said Orcollo. “Although this is the first time that Django and I will be teaming up, we’re very much familiar with each other. I know his style, he knows mine, so I think we could easily jell.”

With Orcollo’s talent and Bustamante’s experience, the Philippines will be one of the teams to watch in the annual event, which attracts the world’s top cue masters.

“Dennis is the best player in the world today, and with his talent, coupled by my experience, I think we have a very strong chance to win this tournament again,” said Bustamante.

“You are two of the greatest cue artists in the world, and our nation looks at you as heroes. We believe that you can win that World Cup of Pool and once again make our country proud,” said Sen. and pool patron Manny Villar.

Orcollo and Bustamante, whose campaign is also supported by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP), will compete against 31 other pairs from around the world in the tournament that offers a total prize fund of $250,000 (P11.75-million), including the champion purse of $60,000.

As No.2 seed, just behind the defending champions, the Filipino tandem will open their bid opposite Denmark, bannered by Martin Larsen and Kasper Kristoffersen.

The other countries competing in the tournament are Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysian, Chinese-Taipei, Thailand, Vietnam, Canada, the United States, Australia, Peru, Qatar, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and two teams from the host nation.

Orcollo, a stalwart of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions, has already won four major tournaments this year – the San Miguel Beer-Quezon City 9-Ball Championship, the All-Japan Open, the 2008 Qatar International 9-Ball Open and China leg of the 2008 Guinness Tour. He is also set to compete in the Guinness Tour Grand Finals late this month in Jakarta.

Both Orcollo and Bustamante of Puyat Sports are also part of the eight-man Filipino squad seeing action in the much-anticipated Q.C. Invasion: Quezon City-Philippines vs the World Grand Billiards Showdown on Dec. 2-4 at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City. http://www.philstar.com

By Rey Joble
www.manilastandardtoday.com

A THIRD world championship will have to wait for young Chinese Taipei pool star Wu Chia-Ching.

For now, the distinction of becoming the first-ever world 10-ball champion belongs to Darren Appleton of Great Britain.

Appleton repulsed a spirited charge by the Taiwanese and pulled off a tense 13-11 victory, bagging the World Pool Association’s World Ten Ball Championship at the Philippine International Convention Center Sunday night.

With momentum shifting on the side of Wu, Appleton had to rely on a dry break of his rival to get another chance of getting back on the table.

It happened on the 24th rack, with Wu failing to cash in on the orange ball no. 5, which nearly went in on the corner pocket. It gave the Briton a chance to drill in one ball after another, including the yellow nine ball that nearly went out—and in—in the deciding rack.

As Appleton cleaned up the table and finished the match, the cue artist, who once lost to WPA top-ranked lady player Jasmin Ouschan of Austria, cried and fell down on his knees as a handful of supporters waving the English flag celebrated his victory.

“I waited 16 years for this and have to enjoy the moment. I was ranked no. 1 in the world for six years, but couldn’t win the championship,” said Appleton. “Pool is an easy choice for me as a sport as I have to choose among boxing, football and pool among others. But this victory is sweeter for me and I have to dedicate this to my parents, whose relationship is in the rocks.”

In winning the WTBC, Appleton pocketed the top prize of $100,000 and secured his first-ever world title.

Wu, who missed a chance of adding the 10-ball title to his World 9-Ball Championship and World 8-Ball crown, settled for the runner-up and prize of $40,000.

Earlier,  Demosthenes Pulpul, the country’s newest pool discovery,  settled for fourth after losing to Neils Feijen of The Netherlands, 8-11, in the battle for third.

Meanwhile, Pulpul is a cinch to become a member of the national men’s billiards team to the 2009 Southeast Asian Games.

The highest-ranked Filipino player in the recently concluded World Ten Ball Championship may become the newest member of the RP team in next year’s Games in Laos and fulfill his dream of representing the country in another major international event. http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=sports2_oct6_2008