Friday, June 15, 2007 Guinness 9-ball tour goes to Malaysia
* Alcano, de Luna, Corteza, Gomez to banner Philippine contingent
ESPN Star Sports, Asia's number one sports broadcaster, continues its exclusive coverage of the 2007 Guinness 9-ball tour as the region's best cue artists gather once more to engage in top-notch pool competition atop the peaks of the Titiwangsa Mountains for the tour's third stop at Malaysia's entertainment hub, Genting Highlands on June 15 to 17
Fifteen hours of live coverage on Star Sports will be in this leg of the six-city tour.
With a second victory in Kaohsiung courtesy of a flawless performance from Yang Ching-Shun, the Taiwanese players are definitely on superb form as they have shown tremendous skill and extraordinary consistency on the pool table. As such, the Taiwan contingent boasting of Yang, Jakarta winner Chang Jung-Lin, and two former world champions, Wu Chia-Ching and Chao Fong-Pang remain the favorites to claim a third straight crown this weekend in Malaysia and in the process keep the hopes of a first ever Taiwan sweep of the tour alive.
However, the path to glory is not as easy as it sounds as 20 other participants representing Asia's elite pool masters are also vying for the same goal - to outclass the rest of the competition field and bask in the limelight on top of the nine-ball hill.
Leading the challenge for the local contingent are tour veterans, Ibrahim Amir and Patrick Ooi Fook Yuen together with compatriots Rashid Sami and Mohd Sapawi.
Meanwhile, the Philippines, suffering from a lackluster performance in the 2007 tour, will be sending its strongest line-up this year composed of double world champion Ronato Alcano, reigning Philippine National Champion Lee Vann Corteza, 2006 DOHA silver medalist Jeffrey De Luna and the up-and-coming Roberto Gomez, in a bid to get back on track in the 2007 tour and gain ground against their Taiwanese rivals.
Asked about his expectations in the Malaysia stop, Corteza, the Jakarta leg runner-up replied: "It's amazing how the Taiwanese have performed so far this year. They have won two consecutive times which is a remarkable achievement given that this tournament has some of the best nine ball players today. I am praying that with some luck, our players (Filipinos) can duplicate performance shown by the Taiwanese and get our first victory of the Guinness 9Ball Tour. If we do, hopefully the momentum will shift to our favor for the coming legs. I have been practicing non-stop for this tournament and I am confident that I will once more reach the finals and hopefully this time luck will be on my side. "
Draw for the Genting tournament was scheduled Thursday with the competition commencing on Friday through to Sunday. Viewers in Asia can look forward to 15 hours of LIVE and exclusive telecast of the tournament on Star Sports.
For more information on the tour, please check out www.guinness9balltour.com. For the latest schedules and program information on ESPN Star Sports, visit www.espnstar.com. (Press release)
