Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Manalo sets the pace
FORMER Asian Snooker champion Marlon Manalo launched his WPA World 10-Ball Championship campaign on a winning note.
So did his compatriots Victor Arpilleda, Elmer Kalaquian and Demos–thenes Pulpul, who won their respective matches.
Manalo, the reigning national open champion, defeated Tee Chee Soon of Brunei, 9-6, to jumpstart the Pinoys’ onslaught yesterday at the Philippine International Convention Center.
Arpilleda outclassed Wang Kuo-Pin, 9-6, while Kalaquian ripped Matjaz Elcujz, 9-3 of Slovenia. Pulpul dumped Muhd Al Bin All of Qatar, 9-2.
“Hindi rin madali yung panalo ko,” said Manalo, who beat Antonio Gabica in the recent BSCP National Open. “Nag-tie pa nga kami at four-all pero naka tatlong sunod ako.”
Not all went well for the Filipinos as three cue artists fell to the losers’ bracket after dropping their opening matches. This includes reigning national junior champion Jericho Banares, who lost to Steve Moore of the US, 4-9; Florencio Banar, who lost to Bruno Maratore, 5-9 and Elvis Calasang, who fell to Naoyuki Oi, 9-8.
Reigning World 9-Ball champion Daryl Peach of Great Britain whipped Sit Chung Ching of Hong Kong, 9-4, to start strong in the competition.
After a slim 3-2 lead, Peach, the pride of Blackpool, England, took six of the next eight racks to nail his first win in the tournament.
Doha Asian Games women’s 9-ball champion Liu Shin Me, one of the few lady participants entered in the men’s field, stamped her class after winning over Christian Tuvi of Uruguay, 9-4.
Meanwhile, World 9-Ball 2004 champion Thorsten Hohmann, who has been in a slump for nearly two years, is slowly getting back on his feet as he hurdled past Albin Ouschan of Austria, 9-5.
Also winning their opening matches were Sacha Tege of Germany, Lu Hui Chan of Chinese Taipei, Imran Majid of Great Britain, Charlie Williams of the United States, Kazuo Furuta, Mark Gray of Great Britain, Fabio Petroni of Italy, Kim Woong-Dee of Korea and Tyler Edgy of Canada, Ry Seung Woo of Korea, chun Shing Yang of Chinese Taipei, Dimitri Jungo of Switzerland, Darren Appleton of Great Britain, Ruslan Chinahov of Russia and Christian Weigoni of Germany. (MCB from PR)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 30, 2008 issue)
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