WORLD Games-bound Jeffrey de Luna and veteran Roberto Gomez beat their foes in contrasting fashion yesterday (Sunday in the US) to reach the quarterfinals of the Kamui Las Vegas Men’s 10-Ball Open in Las Vegas.
After a nerve-wracking match in the round-of-16 against Peru’s Gerson Martinez Boza that he eventually won 3-2 (4-2, 2-4, 2-4, 4-1, 4-3) just a few hours earlier, De Luna polished off Poland’s Radislaw Babica 3-0 (4-1, 4-2, 4-3) to remain in contention.
Also playing twice on the same day, Gomez first beat American Martinez Laz 3-1 (4-2, 2-4, 4-0, 4-2) in his first match then came from behind to vanquish Greek Dmitri Loukatos 3-1 (2-4, 4-1, 4-1, 4-3) in the next match that lasted four hours.
But the two Filipinos drew the misfortune of having to face off in the quarterfinals on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) to remain in the hunt for the top prize of $37,500 (around P2.16 million) in the tourney sanctioned by the World Pool Billiards Association.
Set to unfold Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) is the Kamui Las Vegas Women’s 10-ball Open also at the Rio All-Suite Hotel Casino, with reigning women’s world 9-ball champ Rubilen Amit and compatriot Chezka Centeno going up against 62 other elite players for the top purse of $22,500 (P1.30 million).
