Tuesday, September 05, 2006
7 Pinoys sweep 1st rd. of $3M world pool tilt
By Mike Limpag
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
Seven Pinoys put on an impressive show as they cruised to the next round after completing an unbeaten run in the first round of the International Pool Tour World 8-Ball Championships in Reno, Nevada yesterday.
Three other Pinoys made the cut, as the Philippine contingent to the $3 million event remained intact, while two other Pinoys are still set to play in the first round.
Of the seven Filipino cue masters who posted perfect 4-0 records, none was more impressive than the legendary Efren "Bata" Reyes and reigning Sun.Star Superbalita 9-Ball king, Ronato Alcano.
Lopsided win
Reyes routed Lee Heuwagen, 8-0, in just 24 minutes, scoring six break and run-outs in the lopsided win and also defeated Gerda Hofstatter, 8-2, Oezer Bulunmanz, 8-1, and Mike Lebron, 8-4, for an impressive games-won percentage of 82.05.
On the other hand, Alcano, touted by many as the heir-apparent to Reyes, scored 84.21 against a relatively weak field. Alcano defeated David Alcaide, 8-3, blanked Mary Keniston, 8-0, whipped Sarah Ellerby, 8-1, and Wayne Caltedge, 8-2.
Reyes’ partner in their World Cup of Pool triumph, Francisco Bustamante, also posted a perfect record after beating Roman Hybler (8-2) John Wims (8-5) Michael Davis (8-5) and Wade Crane (8-4).
Crashed out
The biggest story of the day was the early exit of IPT North American 8-ball Championships title holder, Thorsten Hohman from Group 1, which was topped by Cebuano Warren Kiamco.
Kiamco defeated Hohman, 8-3, Jim Raney, 8-1, Loree Jon Jones, 8-1 and Steve More, 8-5.
"The break (was) bad again. I could not make a ball on the break, I missed a few shots again. He played great. I deserved to lose, he deserved to win. There are good and bad tournaments. I won the last one and got knocked out in the first round here-of course I'm disappointed, though," Hohman told internationalpooltour.com after his final 8-4 loss to More.
Other Pinoys who posted perfect records were Dennis Orcullo, Marlon Manalo and Alex Pagulayan. Rodolfo Luat, Antonio Lining and Jose Parica also moved to the next round while Santas Simbajon and Ramil Gallego were still to play in round one.
Luat also posted a lopsided win against Jeremy Jones, 8-1, as he posted seven breaks and run outs.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 5, 2006 issue)
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