Sunday, February 04, 2007
Davao's Corteza, Luat eye stints in Guinness 9-Ball Tour
ALL-Japan Open champion Lee Vann Corteza of Davao City and 2006 US Open runner-up Rodolfo Luat eye stints in the Guinness 9-ball Asian Tournament slated April 20 to 22 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Corteza, who hails from Mintal, said he will try to better his performance when he is given the chance to play in the Tour. The Guinness tour is a qualifying stage for the World Pool Championships.
The Dabawenyo was unfortunate to have been booted out by David Alcaide in the knockout stage match of the WPC in Manila last year.
The 27-year-old Corteza was quoted in Filipino, "If ever I'm given the chance to play in any of the leg of the Tour, it will be a great honor for me to play for a slot in the WPC. I'll do it for the country."
Formerly the Asian 9-Ball Tour, the Guinness 9-Ball Tour has been made bigger and better for players and fans alike with the new partnership between ESPN STAR Sports and Guinness.
Total prize money has doubled to US$320,000 (from US$160,000 for last year's Tour). The Tour will feature a Grand Final in Bali for the Top 10 players.
Winners of each leg will win US$15,000 while the Grand Final Champion will walk away with US$36,000.
The Guinness 9-Ball Tour remains the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify for the WPA World Pool Championship. The top ten finishers in the Guinness 9-Ball Tour Order of Merit will automatically qualify for pool's most prestigious event, this year's edition slated for Manila in November.
Corteza, however, got an official invitation to play in the 2007 WPA World 8-ball Championship on March 1-8 in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. (MLSA)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (February 4, 2007 issue)
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