CARLO Biado fell short in his title-retention drive yesterday (Sunday in the US), dropping a heartbreaking 10-11 decision to Spain’s Francisco Sanchez Ruiz in the semifinals of the US Pool Championship at the Harrah’s Resort & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Biado gamely battled back from a 6-10 deficit by winning four straight racks to level the score at 10-all but ran out of steam against Ruiz, a former world junior 9-ball champ, who took the rack that mattered most and advanced to the title match.
The pumped-up Spanish ace completed his championship run by conquering Austria’s Max Lechner, also a close 11-10 winner over Taiwanese Ko Pin-chung in the other semis, with a rousing 13-10 triumph in the final.
Sanchez Ruiz pocketed $50,000 (around P2.9 million) and emerged as the first Spanish player to bag the prestigious US 9-ball crown while Lechner settled for the runner-up purse of $25,000 (P1.47 million).
Biado settled for $13,500 (P796,000) as a losing semifinalist, reaching the final four as the last Pinoy player standing in the blue-ribbon competition organized by British promotions outfit Matchroom.
The 31st Vietnam Southeast Asian Games men’s 9-ball gold medalist had earlier beaten Japan’s Oi Naoyuki 9-6 in the round-of-32, Poland’s Konrad Jusczczyszun 7-10 in the last 16 and Taiwan’s Hsieh Chia-chen 10-0 in the quarterfinals.
Given his comprehensive beating of the Taiwanese in the quarterfinals, Biado seemed poised in becoming the first Filipino back-to-back champion of the tourney that compatriots Alex Pagulayan won in 2013 and Efren “Bata” Reyes in 1994.
But he was forced to play catch-up for most of the match by his crafty Spanish foe, who surged to an early 5-1 lead behind his solid break and precise placements that left his rival stuck to his chair.
Sanchez Ruiz reached the hill first and seemed comfortably ahead 10-6 on a break and run-out in the 16th frame until Biado found an opening in the next to fashion a remarkable rally that fell just a tad short.
