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Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Gallego enters finals of SMB Asian 9-Ball tilt in Thailand
RAMIL Bebeng Gallego overcame a bad start to come from behind and win over Chao Fong Pang of Chinese Taipei, 118, in the semifinals of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour held Monday at the Bang Na Hall.
The cue artist from Bacolod City was set to battle Au Chi Wai of Hong Kong for the top prize of US$10,000 or roughly P530,000 in the Finals later Monday. Au beat Li He-Wen of China, 119, in the other semifinal match-up of the event managed by ESPN Star Sports.
Suffering from dry breaks in the fifth and ninth racks, Gallego trailed the two-time World Pool champion, 46.
However, momentum shifted in the latter stages as it was Chao's turn to fall victim to bad luck.
The Taiwanese failed to connect on an attempt on the 6-ball in the 12th rack thus allowing the Filipino to knot the score sixt 6. Gallego then seized the upper hand with a run out during the next rack.
With a chance to tie the match in the 18th rack, Chao failed to pocket any of the balls off the break. Gallego, who is a replacement for 2004 World Pool champion Alex Pagulayan, then made the most of the opportunity as he cleaned up the table to sit on the hill, 108.
Not showing any signs of pressure, Gallego then had a near perfect lay-out after his break and ran out of the table for the victory to the delight of the pro-Filipino crowd.
"Chao had a impeccable start that's why he led by two. Good thing he committed a few errors later on that's why I was able to catch up," said a visibly relieved Gallego. "I'll try my best in the finals," he added.
Gallego, a veteran of the Japan circuit, avenged compatriot Efren "Bata" Reyes defeat to Chao in the quarterfinals
The Asian Tour is the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify to the World Pool Championship. The top ten finishers at the end of this year's Tour will automatically enter the World Pool Championships. A total money purse of US$40,000 is up for grabs in each leg of the event.
Now in its fourth year, the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is offering a top prize of US$10,000 for the champion of each leg and US$5,000 to the runner-up.
Last year saw Yang claim the Kaohsiung leg and finish runner-up in two other legs. Filipinos won the other three legs: Gandy Valle (Singapore), Reyes (Jakarta) and Ronato Alcano (Manila).
The San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union and organized by ESPN Star Sports' Event Management Group (EMG). San Miguel Beer is the title sponsor for the Tour. Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls respectively. Brunswick Metro is the official pool table. Star Sports is the official broadcaster.
Aside from Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok, the 2006 Tour will go to Kaohsiung, Taiwan (August 4-6) and Jakarta, Indonesia (September 1517) as well as a special exhibition leg in Guangzhou, China (July 16). Besides the total prize money of US$160,000, the top 10 players on the Tour Order of Merit every year will directly qualify into the World Pool Championship.
For more information on the Tour, please check out www.asian9-balltour.com. For the latest schedules and program information on ESPN STAR Sports, catch us on the net at www.espnstar.com. (Press release)
(June 6, 2006 issue)
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