UNHERALDED Marvin Asis and Roland Garcia upset their fancied foes to highlight the glittering performance of Filipino cue players on Day 2 of the World Pool Championship at the Green Halls in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday night.
Ranked No. 89 in the world 9-ball rankings, Asis pulled off a riveting 9-8 decision over veteran world No. 10 and two-time World Masters champion David Alcaide of Spain while Garcia, No. 72, was clinical in stunning world World Pool champion Neils Feijen, ranked No. 17, of the Netherlands 9-5.
The Dutch “Terminator” was an early casualty after two days of action in the prestigious tournament offering a mouth-watering prize of $250,000 (roughly P14.225 million) after absorbing his second straight defeat 7-9 in the loser’s bracket last night to Portuguese Jao Rillo in the two-round eliminations.
The best ranking Pinoy bet at No. 4 and a pre-tournament favorite, Johann Chua wiped out hometown bet Mohammed Al-Bhalki 9-0 to advance to the winner’s bracket together with compatriot and former World Pool titleholder Carlo Biado (No. 18), who beat Dutchman Jan Van Lierop 9-5 in the elite field featuring the top 128 players in the world from 40 countries.
Despite the sharp showing, Chua, who teamed up with Biado to clinch the World Cup of Pool doubles crown in 2023, was still unsatisfied, saying: “I’m not really happy with my performance — I just feel lucky that I had a lot of opportunities.
“I’m still trying to adjust to the table, but it’s always good to get that first win. Hopefully, I can keep improving and play better in the next matches.”
He stressed that winning the “Crown Jewel” of 9-ball billiards “would mean a lot to us. It would be a reminder that the Philippines is still one of the strongest nations in pool. As we all know, the greatest player of all time — Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes — comes from our country.”
“So, for a Filipino to win this tournament, it would be a proud moment and a way to put the Philippines back on the map,” added the cue ace of ruling the competition last won by Biado in 2017 in Doha, Qatar.
In other triumphant Filipino results, Michael Feliciano (No. 28) beat Polish Konrad Juszczyszyn 9-3, Anton Raga (No. 36) defeated Saudi Fahad Aldhauyan 9-3; James Aranas (No. 44) topped Egypt’s Wesam Hammam 9-4; Lee Van Corteza (No. 48) edged Saudi Al Waleed Al-Mudayan 9-7; Bermoe Regalario (No. 59) routed Syria’s Abdullah Alenzi 9-2; Patric Gonzales (No. 61) whipped Czech Roman Hybler 9-3; and AJ Manas, 18, subdued compatriot Alex Ferrer 9-6, among others.
Aisis was to take on Greek Dimitris Loukatos (No. 64) while Garcia was scheduled to meet Iraqi Ameer Ali in the next round last night.
Facing his biggest challenge yet, Manas, 18, was set to play Singaporean star and world No. 4 Aloysius Yap, who beat Vietnam’s Phuong Nam Pham 9-5 in his opening, last night, while Chua was to take on former world junior 9-ball champion Sanjin Pehlivanovic of Bosnia as his next opponent.
Also an intriguing all-Filipino clash in the winner’s bracket was the battle between Biado and veteran Corteza while Raga was to take on 2024 World Pool runner-up Mohammad Soufi of Syria in another prominent encounter.
