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Final Four set today
Alex “the Lion” Pagulayan, Gandy “YanYan” Valle, Ronato “Calamba” Alcano, and Jeffrey “Bata” de Luna take the limelight today in the Final Four showdown of the 2006 BSCP National Pool Championship at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Each took a separate and thrilling route to the Final Four.
Pagulayan carved out a masterful 9-6 victory over Ronato Alcano that featured, among others, a soft break, precision position, and superb pattern play. Alcano did his best to respond but Pagulayan was simply unstoppable.
Valle took the starch out of Dennis “Surigao” Orcullo through an effective soft break and seven straight runouts. Orcullo managed to take rack no. 8, but that was all he wrote.
Coming from the losers’ bracket, Alcano bested tournament sensation Ronaldo Garcia in a thrilling hill-hill match. Trailing 5-8, Alcano took two racks in succession. Then in the 16th game, the two battled through a bout of nerves. Both players missed several shots, with Alcano finally prevailing. In the last game, he ran out the table.
Jeffrey “Bata” de Luna’s route to the Final Four was even more dramatic (see next story). He had to beat four rated players in succession: Warren Kiamco, Ramil Gallego, Antonio Gabica, and Dennis Orcullo.
The tournament now goes into a cross-over semifinals and finals. Valle will play Alcano in the 6:30 pm opening match. Pagulayan will take on De Luna in the final match of the day.
The matches will be telecast live simultaneously on NBN-4 and Sports Plus.
A new Bata emerges
In four gruelling matches yesterday (August 18), Jeffrey de Luna cemented his place in the new firmament of Philippine billiards and ensured a place in the Final Four of the 2006 BSCP National Pool Championship.
Nicknamed “Bata” because of his youth (just 21 years), de Luna took the scalps of no less than four rated players: Three-time SEAG gold medalist Warren Kiamco; SMC Tour winner and Tokyo champion Ramil “Bebeng” Gallego; 2004 Philippine Open champion Antonio Gabica; and RP money king Dennis “Surigao” Orcullo.
Kiamco fell 5-9; Gallego was routed 4-9; Gabica lost 7-9 in a tight match. And Luna beat Orcullo after the latter managed to knot the score at 6-all.
In each match, Luna’s powerful break and sharp pocketing proved to be the decisive factor.
New sensation from Pampanga
As if to cement the news that a new generation indeed is taking over, another pool sensation from Pampanga has emerged in the 2006 BSCP National Pool Championship. He goes by the name of Ronaldo Garcia, and he hails from Magalang, Pampanga.
Just 21, Garcia entered the tournament via the qualifying round held on August 12 and 13 at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City. He topped the qualifiers with a perfect record.
In the main tournament at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Garcia won match after match with just a couple of hiccups. He began by beating fellow-qualifier Richard Pornelosa in a cliffhanger, 9-8. Next, he upset rated player Warren Kiamco, 9-3.
In his third match, he stumbled against 2004 Philippine Open champion Antonio Gabica. Gabica’s power breaks and superb pattern play did not give him any room to maneuver.
But following the loss and his relegation to the losers’ bracket, Garcia went back to his winning ways. He nipped SEAG gold medalist Lee Van Corteza, 9-8. Next, he disposed of Leonardo Didal, 9-4. Then he bested Kuwait-based Mario Tolentino in a close match, 9-7.
That set up a showdown with another tournament surprise, the veteran Jimmy Cheng, who earlier upset Kaoshiung SMC Tour winner Rodolfo Luat.in a hill-hill match. Garcia proved too much for Cheng, however, as he trounced him by the score of 9-3.
The victory arranged a meeting with Ronato Alcano for a seat in the Final Four. Once more, Garcia quickly threatened to take another scalp. He reached the hill at 8-5. But from the brink of defeat, Alcano fought back.
In a thrilling and nerve-wracking 16th game, both missed several shots before Alcano won it to reach hill-hill. In the final game, Alcano prevailed.
The loss notwithstanding, Garcia had stamped himself on the tournament and on the ledger of Philippine pool. He will be someone to reckon with from hereon. And he could be a future world-beater.
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