Thursday, August 21, 2008 Davao bets advance to 9-Ball main draw
SIPAG and Tiyaga division champion Demosthenes Pulpul of Cagayan de Oro City and runner-up Romeo Alcano of Davao City won tickets to the all-star cast First Senate President Manny Villar Cup 9-Ball Open Davao Leg that unfolds at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Gaisano Mall of Davao Atrium.
Pulpul, who pocketed a cash prize of P26,000, and Alcano, who bagged P15,000, grabbed the first two spots in the qualifying tournament that concluded Tuesday at the NCCC Mall B3 Center.
The two qualifiers joined the main draw that features Efren "Bata" Reyes, who has yet to win a Villar Cup title after seeing action in the past three legs held in Alabang, Cebu and Bulacan, and two-time world champion Ronnie Alcano.
The 54-year-old Reyes, in recent press forum here, said in Filipino: "I haven't been winning in the Villar Cup because we now have a bunch of very good players. I just need to be more consistent to pull off a win."
Reyes, who hails from Angeles City, Pampanga, has also not won any title since topping the Derby City Classic in January in Louisville, Kentucky in January last year.
But, former world pool champion Alex Pagulayan, in a statement, said: "The Champ is always a champ and he will always be the man to beat in every tournament he enters."
Aside from Reyes and Pagulayan, pool sharks the likes of reigning World No.1 Dennis Orcollo, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, national champion Lee Vann Corteza, and previous leg winners Kiamco, Gandy Valle and Ramil Gallego will also vie for the P300,000 top purse. (MLSA)
