Your man in Manila
- Thread starter jay helfert
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gopi-1 said:
Nice set-up. Ronnie toasted him.
gopi-1 said:A young Filipino? They are a dime a dozen Jay!
And about Bob Hunter's opponent, he must be Jimmy "Baba", meaning chin in
Tagalog. He's a B player, that's according to Filipino's standards.
Ralf Souquet has the easiest path to the championship, let me correct myself;
he's trekking the path of lesser resistance. The upper bracket is a killer for
anyone, including Efren who just fell by the wayside...
You're right, it is Baba.
bandido said:
Nice touch in One Side is every match has a rack boy who doubles as a ref. Hey, the perfect job for me. I think I've found my calling at One Side. Mr. Announcer the rack boy.
Shaping up like Alcano, Souquet and Wu. These are the top guns this week. Although in alternate break format, surprises can happen. Luat snuck thru by the skin of his teeth. Both players stumbled to the finish line.
Cory Deuel is doing commentary on the Loung Duong match with Deluna. He just said "Long dong is letting it all hang out". A few million laughs worldwide. His co-commentator Nick Halling almost fell out of his chair. I told him it was "poolroom" commentary.
how is my home town boy tyler edey doing?
oops ,sorry just seen he lost.
kidrock said:LOL
Just thought I'd let you know that we are doing commentary from a studio set up behind the playing arena. I do not actually see the match in person. I am watching on three TV monitors in the studio and must make my comments from what I see there. It is a challenge to say the least. Sometimes it is hard to see which balls are on the table.
But I must make it sound like I am tableside. How am I doing? I've gotten used to it by now. Not the ideal situation, in fact I've never done this before. I prefer to be able to see everything, what the players are looking at, what the opponent is doing while he fidgits in the chair, etc. It can be hard to see the angles too, if a player can make a clean hit on a ball. That is why you hear me occasionally ask the camerman to show me the shot from straight on.
Well, we are down to the nitty gritty now. Eight players left. I don't see any other winner but either Wu (my first choice to repeat, he's awesome), Alcano (they play today) or Souquet (a proven champ having a banner year).
Gotta go to work.
Wow. Did anyone see that 5 ball Ralf sunk in his hill-hill rack against Fu? Man, what balls! Not only that, but what execution. It was a table length cut shot that not only he had to make, but heavily draw the CB one rail for position on the 6 on the side rail. He misses that shot, he loses the match. I didn't think anyone would have attempted to pot that shot.
He definitely deserves to be in the final just for that shot alone.
Let's see if Alcano has the answer to the Kaiser. Although Ralf may have Efren and Luat's number, but I don't know if Ronnie matched up before with Ralf before. Should be a great finals.
He definitely deserves to be in the final just for that shot alone.
Let's see if Alcano has the answer to the Kaiser. Although Ralf may have Efren and Luat's number, but I don't know if Ronnie matched up before with Ralf before. Should be a great finals.
Good luck favors the brave. That's what champions are made of. But I would
like to see the Volcano win it all tomorrow. A 64th seed winning it all. Ronnie
beat the top qualifier (Gomez), the sentimental favorite (Efren), last year's
runner-up (Kuo) and the reigning champion (Wu) to get to the finals. His path
to the finals was full of pitfalls and traps, and he overcame it all. One more
game Ronnie, for all the marbles!
like to see the Volcano win it all tomorrow. A 64th seed winning it all. Ronnie
beat the top qualifier (Gomez), the sentimental favorite (Efren), last year's
runner-up (Kuo) and the reigning champion (Wu) to get to the finals. His path
to the finals was full of pitfalls and traps, and he overcame it all. One more
game Ronnie, for all the marbles!
jsp said:
You beat me to it. As good a shot under pressure as I've ever seen. And the safety battle that preceeded it was first class, with great shots by both players. A great great match. And I got to do the commentary. In the last rack Ralf fooled me a couple of times.
Hoprefully one day it will air in the US. Damn shame that it doesn't. I like Ralf in the long finals. Nice that a filipino made the final, so we have a crowd. Ronnie played great in beating Wu.
Gotta run.
The real question is will Ralf be able to ignore the crowd?
gopi-1 said:You got some lovelies waiting for you Jay? You are such a dog!
Just one, Vanessa is her name, 4'11" and cute as a button. I found here a few days ago. Wish I could put her in my suitcase when I leave. Met here at the tournament. She said "Oh Mr. announcer, may I take my photo with you?" and I said "How about lunch?" Surprise surprise, she said yes.
She waits all day for me while I work, sometimes sitting in the same chair for hours. And after, she doesn't mind going to One Side and watching the action. What a girl. Try finding one like that in the States.
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cuetechasaurus said:
Nothing bothers Ralf. He is like a Zen player, between shots. Sits in his chair looking totally relaxed and attentive. I make him the favorite in this long match, but anything can happen. Saw Ronnie out on the street late last night. Walking around visiting with his buds, not a care in the world. I said "Ronnie, getting ready for the big match tomorrow?" And he just smiled that toothless grin.
You gotta like this guy. I do, he is the hope of his nation right now, with all their hopes riding on him. Believe me, EVERYONE knows he is in the finals tomorrow. If he wins, he will literally be a national hero. Probably will earn a huge bonus from the President also. I wish him luck, because Ralf will put him to the test. Ralf is the consumate professional. Seasoned and experienced, he seems totally at ease with all the hoopla and quite ready to do battle on the big stage.
Might be a real good match. Ronnie has been staying in action every night. He's a throwback to the early Efren era. Play the tourney all day, and gamble all night. A player's player.
gopi-1 said:No problem! Ralf's got an antedote, he will lull the crowd to sleep. Watching
the Kaiser play is just like watching how the grass grow, in slow-mo!
Ralf is like a Boa Constrictor, he wraps himself around you and slowly squeezes the life out of you. His slow play doesn't bother me. He asseses each shot carefully and then proceeds to execute flawlessly. You can see the wheels turning in his head, as he weighs his options.
He is having a great year and this would be the capper. Surely he would be Player Of The Year if he wins this one.
gopi-1 said:You got some lovelies waiting for you Jay? You are such a dog!
Back to One Side last night. Alex was hooked up with Gallego for 6K in a Ten Ball Race To Thirty. I watch Alex string seven racks on these tough tables. His break is awesome. He was leading 16-5 when I left for my hotel. Couldn't keep my eyes open. I was told Ramil had beaten Alex twice before in the last few weeks. Alex has his AAAA+++ game going now.
Earlier in the week, Yang (the Chinese #1) beat Busty for 6K playing Ten Ball. Kuo beat Cortezza in a cheap set for about $500. These are the two best Chinese players. I played last night with Bob Guerrero, the local TV announcer. He is filipino, but looks and acts American. Poor boy. He has been itching to play with me, so we went to Rack 'n Roll, just down the street from One Side.
Bob has two cues, one for me. It is a cheap two piece, absolutely plain jane. His cue is a fairly nice filipino made special. Feels good in my hands with a nice tip. He will not share tho, so I must play with the cheapo. At least it's straight and has a decent tip. We play 9-Ball for two hours on the Gold Crown copy. It plays tough! That seems to be the thing in the filipinos, tough equipment.
Bob is only a fair player so I win most games. I never quite get the feel of this this clunky cue, so I can't let out my stroke (what little stroke I have). Try as I might I have trouble running an entire rack. Maybe I run two racks the whole session. These tables bank funny, so one of my weapons is lost. It is all in fun tho, so I don't really care. Bob asks me what I will do if one of the local hotshots comes over and asks me to play. I disappoint him when I say I will pass.
I qualify my answer by saying if you let me use your cue, I may play some One Pocket. He seems pleased now. Thankfully, everyone leaves the two announcers alone. I feel quite inadequate as a pool player in this country. I have seen too many run-out teenagers. I will be glad to stick to reporting and commentating.
The highlight of my night is walking into One Side and seeing the big crowd around the Alex-Gallego match. We stand well off to the side, but both players walk over and greet me one by one. First Ramil, between games comes over to say hi and chat a bit. Asks me about the Sands in December and Derby City. He has never been to Louisville. I tell him he will be in heaven there, non stop action. He could win millions! Tony Waton look out. This guy would demolish him.
And then after a picture perfect run-out, a jovial Alex comes over and gives me a big hello and grabs my leg??? Well, it seemed friendly. I love this happy guy. He has more fun playing pool for serious money than anyone I've ever seen.
Oh well, maybe Jersey Red had as much fun. I loved him too, all his banter as he was running eight and out. I think of the big red man now. God, did he love to play Pool. He lived to play, and play he did. Sometimes mostly forgotten among the greats of his era, he was one of the best All Around players who ever lived.
Bob asks me this question. How did the old timers shape up against these great players? I give him my stock answer. More good players today, but the great ones from yesteryear were just as good as the great ones today. No one today would have to like messing with the big Red Rooster. He liked that name.
Vanessa has joined me and we go to breakfast now.
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