Lining yields to Chinese; Orcollo out

source: By Olmin Leyba (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines - Liu Haitao of China foiled Filipino Antonio Lining’s march into the semifinals, hacking out a pulsating 9-8 squeaker in the Philippine Open Pool Championships at the SM Megatrade Hall yesterday.

Practically given up for lost after Lining got on the hill and stood a few balls away from clinching a semis seat, Haitao got a new lease on life when the veteran Filipino flubbed an easy shot on the 5-ball.
The Chinese bet quickly took advantage and won the next four racks, capping his fightback with two successive breaks and run out to steal the Last-4 berth from a stunned Lining.

Haitao joined early semifinalist Ralf Souquet of Germany, who hacked out a clinical 9-2 verdict over compatriot Thorsten Hohmann in the lower half of the winner’s bracket quarterfinals.

However, all is not lost for Lining as he still had a second chance to reach the semis via the backdoor. The 48-year-old Pinoy cuemaster was slated to play either Fuh Chei Wei of Chinese Taipei or former world 10-ball boss Darren Appleton of Britain in the loser’s bracket late last night for a ticket to the crossover semis.

Carlo Biado likewise set himself up for a shot at the next round after slamming the door on fancied countryman Dennis Orcollo, 9-7, in the one-loss side. Biado was gunning for a Last-4 seat against another big-time player in Hohmann at presstime.

“Medyo pressure din kasi si Dennis (Orcollo) ang pinakamagaling dito ngayon. Hindi ko na lang inisip kung manalo o matalo ako basta makipag-sabayan lang ako (I know Orcollo is the top Filipino player here so there was pressure playing against him. But I just tried not to think about whether I will win or lose and keep in step with him),” said Biado.

He also felt reigning world 8-ball king Orcollo’s shotmaking was not there, exemplified by his miss on the 4-ball in the 16th rack just as he was trying to force a hill-hill battle.

“Masama ang tinira niya,” offered the 27-year-old Biado.

Lining, the highest-rated competitor in the meet at world No. 2, got into a deep hole against Liu, 0-4, but managed to catch up at 4-4 and 5-5 before turning the tables in the next three racks to get on the hill.

Meanwhile, former world 9-ball titlist Liu Sha-Sha of China and compatriot Siming Chen took the semifinal berths in the winner’s bracket of the women’s division after bundling out Chou Chieh Yu of Chinese-Taipei, 9-6, and Lim Yun Mi of Korea, 9-2.

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Lining beats Corteza to enter PH Open quarters

source: abs-cbnNEWS.com

MANILA, Philippines – World’s Top 2 player, Antonio “Nikoy” Lining, advanced to the Last 8 of the Philippine Open Pool Championships after defeating compatriot Lee Van Corteza on Sunday at the SM Megamall.

Lining outplayed former World Ten Ball runner-up Corteza, 9-5, to remain unbeaten in the World Pool-Billiards Association (WPA) sanctioned event.

The Mindoro-native Lining, ranked by the WPA as the second best player in the world, worked his way out of a 5-4 deficit on his solid breaking game to turn back Corteza.

The victory assured Lining of a seat in the quarterfinals.

“Yung ganda ng break ang nagdidikta ng laro kapag maganda yung break mo, mga 80 percent yung tsansa mo to win a rack,” said Lining.

Lining, scheduled to face Liu Hai Tao of China, was joined in the quarterfinal round by Germans Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann. – By Marlon Bernardino

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Filipino Banares ousts world champ Immonen

source: By Marlon Bernardino / Cebu Daily News

The shocking upsets continue to hound the fancied players three days into the Philippine Open Pool Championships after two more world champions were given the boot by unheralded foes at the SM Megamall.

Reigning World Ten Ball champion Mika Immonen of Finland and double world champion Ronnie Alcano of the Philippines fell to the sidelines Saturday after suffering stinging setbacks.

Immonen, a former world No.1 player, lost to youthful Jerico Banares of the Philippines, 7-9, in a thrilling afternoon match while Alcano earned his second loss to Abdullah Al Yousuf of Kuwait, 4-9.

A scratch off the break in the 16th rack doomed Immonen, and the in-form Banares ran out the remaining balls for the unexpected win.

“Medyo binuwenas ako, magaganda rin yung break niya kaso hindi bumebenta,” said Banares, a former national junior champion.

Alcano, on the other hand, lost his ferocious form as early as the second day when he lost to Hwang Young, 4-9. The Filipino world 9-ball and 8-ball winner blamed the mandatory timeout rule which gives players a measly five-minute break at the halfway mark of every match.

Al Yousuf quickly raced to a 5-0 lead before Alcano won the next three racks. The Kuwaiti bet bounced back and grabbed the next rack for a 6-3 lead before both players were given a short break.

When the game resumed, Al Yousuf won three of the next four racks to win.

“Allan (Cuartero) has been helpful in giving information on how Filipino players play,” said Al Yousuf referring to the Kuwait-based Filipino OFW.

Cuartero for his part also lived for another day after surviving Wu Hao of China, 9-8.

But two other notable Filipino players—Jeff de Luna and Marlon Manalo — were not as lucky.

De Luna lost his TV table match to Nguyen Puc Long of Vietnam, 6-9, while Manalo dropped a 3-9 loss to compatriot Carlo Biado.

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Cuartero keeps pool hopes alive

 source: By Jonas Terrado / mb.com.ph

Kuwait-based Allan Cuartero stunned Wu Hao of China, 9-8, to keep alive his campaign in the Philippine Open Pool Championships yesterday at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall.

Following a loss to newly-crowned World 8-Ball champion Dennis Orcollo that dropped him at the loser’s bracket, Cuartero fell behind, 5-0, and later was on the verge of being eliminated with the Chinese taking an 8-5 lead.

But Cuartero, who has been coaching pool in Kuwait, won the last four racks, highlighted by an easy victory in the deciding frame to earn a meeting with Qatar's Bashar Hussain.

Hussain likewise came back from a 5-0 deficit to eliminate Filipino Venancio Tanio, 9-7.

"Hindi ko na inakala na mahahabol ko pa yung 5-0. Siguro binwenas lang," said Cuartero.

Also advancing is Ramil Gallego, who trounced late entrant Chang Pei Wei of Chinese Taipei, 9-6.
Two more Filipinos were booted out of contention as Jech Limen lost to Fu Che Wei, 9-6, while Roberto Gomez dropped a 9-3 decision to fellow Pinoy Demosthenes Pulpul.

Meanwhile in the ladies division, World No. 1 Ga Young Kim bounced back from a stunning loss the other night with a 9-6 victory over Finland's Marika Poikkijoki. She will face either Keiko Yukawa or Lin Yuan Chun in the next phase of this double-elimination tilt.

Kim, who admitted to still adjusting to the playing conditions, recovered after losing 9-8 to Lim Yun Mi.
Dropping out of contention are the country's bets Geona Christine Gregorio, Reggie Ann Biagcong and 14-year-old Gillian Go after losing two straight matches.

Also gone is Great Britain's Allison Fisher, who lost to Wu Jing of China and to Poikkijoki by similar 9-7 scores.

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Upsets mark PHL Open Day 2 as Pinoys make way to last 32

source: gmanews.tv

Several Filipino players have already made it trouble-free to the Round of 32 of the Philippine Open Pool Championships.

But the World Pool-Billiard Association event was marked by upsets galore late Friday night, somehow overshadowing the Pinoys’ rampage at the venue at SM Megamall.

Multi-titled world women’s champion Allison Fisher, former US Open champion Shane van Boening, and former World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez were eliminated earlier than expected after losing their second straight games in as many matches.

Fisher, an 11-time world champion known in the international pool circuit as “The Duchess of Doom," got the upset axe from a young and virtually unknown Finnish player, Marika Poikkijoki, 9-7.

Van Boening was dealt a similar painful beating by Yoni Rachmanto, the last player who made it to the main draw of this event via the qualifying stage.

Both Fisher and Van Boening, co-recipients of the Player of the Year award in 2007, and Gomez, a 3-9 loser to countryman Demosthenes Pulpul, now make an unexpected early exit from the tournament also supported by the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines.

Two more top-rated lady players, former US Open champion Kelly Fisher and reigning World Women’s 9-Ball champion Fu Fang-Xiao, also became upset victims.

Fisher lost in a hill-hill encounter to Chou Chieh-Yu of Chinese Taipei, 9-8, while Fu bowed to compatriot Han Yu, 9-7, sending both into the loser’s bracket.

Meanwhile, more Filipino bets made it to the Round of 32.

Newly-crowned World 8-Ball champion Dennis Orcullo led the assault with another thrilling come-from-behind win, this time over Kuwait-based compatriot Allan Cuartero, 9-7, on Friday

He is joined by Antonio Lining, the highest-rated player in this event, former World Ten Ball runner-up Lee Van Corteza, and the up-and-coming Renemar David.
Lining dumped Muhamad Zulfikri of Indonesia, 9-1, while Corteza outlasted Ibrahim Amir of Malaysia, 9-6. David defeated compatriot Oliver Medenilla, 9-4. An Overseas Filipino Worker, Medenilla is among the Filipino players included in the world’s top 10.

Top guns of pool ease way to last 32

Former world champions Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, inaugural World Ten Ball champion Darren Appleton of Great Britain, and defending champion Ricky Yang have all booked seats in the last 32 as well.

The German ace Souquet will rekindle his rivalry with Orcullo, who has defeated him several times, a recent one in the Predator Ten Ball championship in 2009.

Hohmann defeated Chang Pei-Wei of Chinese Taipei, 9-5, while Appleton ripped Kenny Kwok of Hong Kong, 9-3, and Yang upstaged Naoyuki Oi of Japan, 9-7.

Other second-day victors include reigning World Ten Ball champion Mika Immonen, Chang Jun Lin of Chinese Taipei, Liu Haitao of China, Takhti Zarekani of Iran, Kuo Po-Cheng of Chinese Taipei, Marcus Chamat of Sweden, Jason Klatt of Canada, Robby Foldvari of Australia, Venancio Tanio of the Philippines, Chang Yu Lung and Fu Che Wei of Chinese Taipei, Mohana Obaidly of Qatar, Ramil Gallego and Raymond Faraon of the Philippines, Desmond Goh Chin Teck of Singapore, Abdullah Al Yousuf of Kuwait, Jeff de Luna, Roland dela Cruz and Carlo Biado of the Philippines, and Siauw Wieto of Indonesia.

Immonen, who surprisingly lost his first match against Lo Li Wen, bounced back with a 9-6 victory to oust Rudy Susanto of Indonesia.

Chang whipped Vincent Facquet of France, 9-2; Liu subdued Nguyen Phuc Long of Vietnam, 9-4; Zarekani beat Jericho Banares of the Philippines, 9-5; Kuo nipped John Morra of Canada, 9-6; Chamat drubbed Lo Li-Wen, 9-3; Klatt survived Mohamed Hosani of the United Arab Emirates, 9-7; Foldvari outlasted Wu Hao of China, 9-7; Tanio nipped Bobby Lee Chenman of Hong Kong, 9-7; Chang bamboozled Rafath Habib of India, 9-1; Fu ousted Jech Limen of the Philippines, 9-6; Obaidly nosed out MD Alias Bin Hj Raschid of Brunei, 9-8; Gallego outplayed Lee Gun Jae of Korea, 9-5; Faraon scuttled Shinya Inoue of Japan, 9-3; Teck beat Ahmad Taufiq Binh Murni of Brunei, 9-7; Yousuf defeated Chan Keng Kwang of Singapore, 9-5; De Luna ousted Ko Ping Chun of Chinese Taipei, 9-4; Dela Cruz whipped Sundeep Gulati of India, 9-4; Wieto drubbed Konstantin Stepanov of Russia 9-3; and Biado dumped Tomoo Takano of Japan, 9-4. - Rey Joble, KY, GMA News

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