RP is making waves in world billiards

Filipino cue artists once again proved that you win in billiards not only through inborn grace and intelligence, but most of all through experience.

Former double world champion Ronnie Alcano, lead player of Bugsy Promotions, and battle-scarred Warren Kiamco made the Final Four against former world champions Mika Immonen of Finland and Johnny Archer of the United States, respectively, in the star-studded 33rd US Open 9-Ball Championship in Chesapeake, Virginia. (This piece was submitted before the event’s final two stages—Ed)

Whether or not they win the US Open title and the champion’s paycheck of $40,000, the Filipino pair will make history. The mere fact that they stormed into the magic four shows that Filipinos can hold their own even against the world’s best and toughest pros.

Over in Jakarta, world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo, also of Bugsy Promotions, and 2004 World Pool 9-Ball champion Alex Pagulayan of Puyat Sports, likewise landed in the elite four in this year’s Guinness Tour Grand Finals, the culmination of the Asian Tour.

All four players—Alcano, Kiamco, Orcollo and Pagulayan—are mainstays of the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines, a group of professionals whose main objective is to promote the game of pool nationwide and to look after the well-being of its members.

In my view, local billiards is already the real winner here. The mere fact that the country’s present crop of veteran cue artists is now a force to reckon with in the international pool scene speaks well of the people running the sport.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Americans were the most dominant billiards players in the world. Among their top pool pros were Nick Varner, Mike Lebron, Jimmy Rempe, Jay Helfert, Kim Davenport, Buddy Hall and, much later in the 1990s and 2000s, Earl Strickland, Johnny Archer, Corey Deuel, Rodney Morris and Shane Van Boening.

In the 1980s, Filipino players entered the picture. Ageless Jose “Amang” Parica, now United States-based, led the Philippine invasion of the American circuit in mid-1984.

Humble and simple Efren “Bata” Reyes, playing under the name of Cesar Morales, started to build a reputation that would make him the most dangerous and finest player on the planet.

In 1985, Reyes, then 29, won his first US title—the Red’s 9-Ball Open in Houston, Texas. He earned the moniker “The Magician” because of his smooth motion and subtle touch.

In 1994, Reyes captured the US Open to become the first non-American to win the crown. A native of Pampanga, Reyes capped his achievements by winning the World Pool Championship in Cardiff, Wales, in 1999 at age 45. Reyes, who is now 54, skipped the 2008 US Open due to health reasons.

Many-time world champion Strickland, the flamboyant American cue artist who is also Reyes’ bitterest rival, said: “In my book, Reyes is the greatest player in the world. What else can you say? He plays you and he beats you.”

Immonen and Alcano Set for US Open Finals

The finals of the 33rd Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships are set, with Mika “Iceman” Immonen and Ronnie Alcano to return for their 7:30 p.m. match at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA.

Earlier in the day, Johnny Archer matched up with Warren Kiamco in the quarterfinal match, which ended up being one-sided in Kiamco’s favor. At 7-1 in Kiamco’s favor, Archer finally notched another rack and then switched from a head-on break to a cut break and jumped the cue ball off the table. Kiamco took that opportunity to three-foul Archer, going up 8-2. He then broke and ran two racks to reach the hill, at which point Archer made a bit of a run when Kiamco hung the 8. It was too little, too late, though, for Archer missed a jump shot on the 1 ball, and Kiamco won handily 11-4.

At the same time, the hot seat match between Immonen and Alcano was going on at the Accu-Stats table. They traded the first six racks, but then Alcano pulled ahead to 8-3, a large margin he created by excellent defensive play. Immonen rallied a bit, winning the next rack after Alcano overcut the 8 ball and then breaking and running the following rack. He came up empty on his next break, though, and Alcano ran out; however, Alcano made nothing on his next break, and Immonen cleared the table to make it 9-6. A missed jump shot on the 2 ball by Immonen gave Alcano the hill, and then when Alcano pocketed a ball on his last break, he was able to clear the table to win 11-6.

Bustamante, Alcano stay unscathed

Filipinos Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Ronnie Alcano posted their fifth consecutive victories Thursday to stay in the winners’ bracket in the 33rd Annual US Open 9-Ball Championship at the Chesapeake Convention Center in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Bustamante of Puyat Sports overwhelmed Oscar Dominguez, 11-1, while Alcano of Bugsy Promotions outlasted compatriot Lee Van Corteza, 11-9, as they stayed unscathed in the star-studded event that offers a total cash purse of $250,000.

Corteza made amends by getting the better of Germany’s reigning world eight-ball champion Ralf Souquet, 11-8, in the losers’ bracket to enter the tournament’s last 16.

United States-based Jose “Amang” Parica later pulled the rug from under defending champion Shane Van Boening of the US, 11-10, to join Bustamante, Alcano, and five others in the tightening circle of unbeaten players from the original field of 238.

Counting the eight remnants in the one-loss bracket, only 16 players stayed in contention heading into the final two days of the race for the $40,000 champion’s purse.

Joining Alcano, Bustamante and Parica in the winners’ side are former world champions Mika Immonen, Johnny Archer and Thorsten Hohmann, as well as reigning world 9-ball titlist Darryl Peach and World Cup of Pool co-champion Rodney Morris.

Immonen blasted Shawn Putnam, 11-1; Archer downed Brandon Shuff, 11-5; Hohmann routed Petri Makkonen, 11-2; Peach outsmarted Raj Hundal, 11-8; and Morris trounced Adam Smith, 11-4.

The unfriendly draw, however, has Alcano and Bustamante going up against each other in the next round. Parica will meet Immonen, Archer battles Peach and Hohmann collided with Morris.

Warren Kiamco scored five wins in the losers’ bracket to stay in the hunt.

Alcano Defeats Corteza in Filipino Billiards Battle

In the featured match of the 9 p.m. rounds, two Filipinos matched up when former world champion Ronnie Alcano and Lee Van Corteza met on the Accu-Stats table. Their match started off shaky at first, but the score remained even throughout until it reached 7-all. Corteza scratched on the 5 ball, and Alcano made a 5-9 combo and then broke and ran the next rack to go up 9-7. To make matters tougher on Corteza, Alcano then snapped in the 9 ball on his next break to reach the hill. Corteza scored a 4-9 combo in the following game and then took the next rack to make it 10-9. Corteza had another chance in the last rack, as Alcano scratched while attempting a two-rail kick, but Corteza missed the 7 in the side, leaving three balls for Alcano to win 11-9.

“Rocket” Rodney Morris took charge of his winners’-bracket match against Adam “GQ” Smith out of Detroit. Though Morris showed troubles getting a clean break and run-out, he used excellent defensive play to stay ahead early and reached a 6-0 lead before Smith got on the board. They exchanged racks for the remainder of the set, but a missed 2 ball in the final rack by Smith cost him the set 11-4.

In a winners’-bracket match utterly dominated by Francisco Bustamante, he reached a 6-0 lead over young Oscar Dominguez before Dominguez got on the board after a dry break by Bustamante. Through a combination of missed shape by Dominguez and strong play by Bustamante, it wasn’t long before “Django” took the match 11-1.

In another lopsided match on the winners’ side, former world 9-ball champ Thorsten Hohmann and Petri Markonen played. Markonen took the first rack, but Hohmann countered by winning the next eight in a row with several break and run-outs. Several exchanges over the next 9 ball led to Markonen getting another game on the wire, but it was not enough, for Hohmann finished out the 11-2 victor.

There was another near wipeout in the elimination rounds when Ralf Souquet and Toru Kuribayashi. Souquet exhibited some problems with getting a shot after his break and didn’t break and run until the sixth game to make it 6-0. Kuribayashi had opportunities throughout the match but did not manage to capitalize on them. In the final game with the score 10-1, Kuribayashi came up empty on his break, and Souquet closed out the set 11-1.

There was a close match in the elimination rounds between Warren Kiamco of the Philippines and the UK’s Imran Majid. Though Majid began by taking the first game and then breaking and running two more racks, Kiamco got on the board after Majid scratched on the 7 ball, making it 3-1 Majid. The score went all the way to 8-all when Kiamco surged ahead to reach the hill. Majid had another shot to bring it back, but he scratched on the 9 ball in the final rack, making Kiamco the 11-8 winner.

Alcano Leads RP Campaign in US Open

Former double world champion Ronnie Alcano leaves for the United States today to compete in the 33rd Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship that starts Sunday at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Alcano, a stalwart of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions of businessman Perry Mariano, will lead a lean Filipino squad in vying in one of the toughest pool tournament in world.

He will be joined by former world no.1 Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Ramil Gallego, Lee Van Corteza, Warren Kiamco, Rodolfo Luat, Jose “Amang” Parica and Joven Alba in mixing up with the field of close to 300 players from all over the world for the guaranteed total prize of $250,000, including the champion purse of $40,000.

The other top Filipino cue artists did not join in the event for various reasons. Efren “Bata”Reyes is undergoing medical checkup, while current world no.1 Dennis Orcollo and former world champion Alex Pagulayan are set to compete in the Grand Finals of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour in Jakarta, Indonesia, which is slated on October 24.

Alcano, who was a runner-up to American Shane Van Boening last year, is hoping to become the third Filipino to win the prestigious event after Reyes (1994) and Pagulayan (2005).

“I’ll do my best to go all the way this time."  said Alcano, who is searching for his first major title since winning the 2007 World 8-Ball Championship.

Meanwhile, the Quezon City Council has passed a resolution commending Orcollo for his recent string of triumph in the international and local arena.

Led by Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton, the councilors, with the concurrence of Mayor Sonny Belmonte and Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista, cited the 29-year-old Orcollo for his title conquest in the 2008 Quezon City 9-Ball Champion, the All-Japan Open, the Qatar International 9-Ball Open, the Guinness 9-Ball Tour leg in Guangzhou, China, and just recently, his and Bustamante’s third-place finish in the PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool.

“Orcollo’s string of triumphs only proved that the Philippines is still considered as the powerhouse when it comes to billiards because of the achievement of the Filipinos in different prestigious billiards competitions here and abroad,” the resolution states.

“Whereas, he is one of the Outstanding Citizens of Quezon City and a true Quezon City pride, is worthy of emulation and an inspiration for the Quezon City aspiring athletes who will join in all international competition.”

The resolution will be presented to Orcollo today during the SCOOP Forum at Kamayan Restaurant in Ermita, Manila.