LEE Van Corteza beat Carlo Biado 11-10 to top the World Ten Ball qualifier for Filipino players staged at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City over the weekend.

With the victory, Corteza took one guaranteed WTBC spot and the cash prize of P20,000. Biado, for his part, got the second qualifying spot and the second place purse of P10,000.

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The two will join 116 players (including nine Filipinos) who had been named by the World Pool-Billiards Association (WPA) as having won berths in the main draw of the World Ten Ball Championship slated on Nov. 25-30 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Corteza and Biado emerged from a field of 75 Class A players who vied for the highly-valued WTBC spots in the double-elimination qualifier.

Noteworthy

The field was noteworthy for the inclusion of Filipino players from the BMPAP (Billiards Managers Players Association of the Philippines) in the competition that is organized by the Billiards & Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) and Raya Sports. BSCP officials led by Sebastian Chua and Yen Makabenta opened the doors of the qualifier to all Filipino players following an agreement with top BMPAP officials (led by Perry Mariano) to set aside differences and forge a concerted effort to win the highly coveted World Ten Ball title for the country in the coming championship.

Corteza emerged undefeated in the tournament, after escaping from two hill-hill encounters. He bested Biado to take the hot seat, but Biado came back strong to challenge for the top prize after edging Antonio Lining in their semifinal match on the losers’side.

The final was a thriller throughout, with Biado all the way up to the final rack. He recorded impressive leads of 5-1, 7-3, 8-6, and 10-8, but could not finish off his opponent. Corteza kept fighting back, finally knotting the count at 10-all.

Do-or-die

In the final rack, Corteza sank a ball on his break, but then faced a difficult long cross-table bank on the 1-ball. Saying that it was do-or-die, he took on the challenge and sank the ball. He then proceeded to run out the table, and was congratulated by his opponent.

Biado lived through practically the same experience in his semifinal match with Lining. The latter took the hill first in their see-saw match that saw Biado leading all the way.

In the 17th rack, with the score knotted at 8-all, Lining faltered on a safety shot that gave his opponent a slight opening. Biado coolly sank the object ball and then ran out to take the match.

The qualifier saw top veterans battling it out with upcoming young players who were eager to prove their worth. Three of the most impressive young players were Ricky Zerna, Marvin Tapia and Rocky Tullao, who showed that they have a bright future in the sport.

Emerging

The other players who emerged in the top eight were–Antonio Lining (third), Ricky Zerna (fourth), Victor Arpilleda and Ramil Gallego (5th to 6th places), and Rocky Tullao and Jundel Mazon (7th to 8th places).

Players who failed in their bid for the WTBC slots will have another chance to qualify via the 10 qualifiers scheduled on Nov. 19 to 23. This time around, they will contend with over 100 foreign players who have signed up to vie for the 10 remaining spots in the WTBC. (PR)