Monday, August 06, 2007 Yang ‘Prince’ clogs Volcano’s fury
YANG “The Prince of Pool Ching-Shun of Chinese-Taipei could not be denied.
Even the 2006 WPA 8-Ball and 9-Ball champion Ronato “Volcano” Alcano failed to stop Yang from winning his third leg, as he beat the Filipino cue master ,12-10, in the finals of the 2007 Guinness 9-Ball Billiards Tour final leg in Shanghai, China yesterday.
The win gave Yang, who won the Kaohsiung and Singapore leg titles, the top rank with a total of 245 merit points while Alcano, the lone Filipino to the Grand Finals in Bali, Indonesia on Aug. 31 to Sept. 2, is expected to move up from his sixth place ranking with an accumulated 160 points.
Alcano showed his class when he managed to win six straight racks after being down 1-5 to take a 7-5 lead.
The Filipino master could have increased his lead at the 13th rack but he scratched the cue ball on his shot for the two and Yang won the next three racks for an 8-7 lead.
Yang failed to make it a two-rack cushion after stratching the cue ball and Alcano cleaned the table in the next two racks for a 10-9 count.
The Chinese-Taipei master then made the game more interesting by cleaning up on his break in the 20th rack to force the game to slide back with the victor needing to win by a two racks.
Yang cleaned up the next two racks after Alcano was forced to play safe after his break on the 21st rack. Yang then finished the game with an unexpected three-nine combo in the 22nd to deny the Philippines from claiming a leg in this year’s tour.
Last year, while it was still named the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball tour, all four legs was won by Filipinos.
In the Shanghai leg, Alcano moved to the finals after defeating Korean Ryu Seung-Woo, 11-6, while Yang ousted the crowd favorite Fu Jian Bo of China in a thrilling 11-9 semifinal game.
This was Alcano’s first time in a leg finals after failing to advance further than the semifinal round in the previous Guinness legs.
Four Chinese-Taipei players will see action in the Grand Finals. Aside from Yang, those who will playing in the finals are Chang Jung-Lin (185 points), Chao Fung Pang (180 points) and Wu Chia Ching (150 points).
Completing the top five finishers is Ricky Yang of Indonesia, who go his Bali slot after tallying 135 points. (RCM)
