Monday, June 23, 2008 A series of fortunate chances leads to title By BAYANI Portallo made several good choices this week that eventually led to his winning the championship crown in Class B
Portallo had never played in huge competitions before and only played in money games with his teammates in Mandaue. In fact, Portallo stopped playing billiards when he decided to sign up for the Superbalita event.
All the way from Negros, Portallo, who has been job searching for the past two months, decided to stop his quest to drop by Cebu and try his luck in the competition.
He was supposed to play in the premier Class A, the open event, where he might have gone up against the country’s top caliber players.
“Without much practice, I could have gone out in the qualifying round,” said Portallo. He went against his instincts and played in Class B, instead. He made the right choice after he came out the victor, winning over Kalot Cose, 10-7.
After trailing 5-4, Portallo managed to break free off Cose’s lead and had him planted on his seat in the next four racks, to lead, 8-5.
After a much-needed water break, action resumed and this time, momentum once more shifted to Cose, who edged closer to 6-8.
Cose showed signs of getting back on track as he won another round to edge closer, 7-8.
In his next break, however, a crucial scratch put Portallo back on the table, and he ran out the next two racks for his win and the
“So this is how it feels to win in a huge competition,” said Portallo, whose victory will get him back to practicing and maybe next time, he will have the confidence to sign up in Class A. (MCB )
