VETERAN Lee Van Corteza topped Greek Alexander Kazakis 9-5 last Wednesday, setting up an intriguing all-Filipino showdown with rising star James Aranas in round 1 of the race-to-11 second stage of the World Pool Championship at the Green Halls in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia yesterday.
Corteza picked up his second straight win in the winner’s bracket and was set to face Aranas, who took a 3-9 loss to Lithuania’s Pijus Labutis but bounced back from the loser’s bracket by terminating Dutchman Nils “The Terminator” Feijen 9-7.
Corteza, the 2017 US Pool king, was one of two Pinoy cue artists who advanced from the winner’s bracket, the other being Albert Manas, who subdued Taiwanese Chang Jung-lin 9-7 to remain in the hunt for the top prize of $250,000 (around P14.660 million).
Also surviving play yesterday was Johann Chua, who advanced from the loser’s bracket by whipping Austria’s Albin Ouscan9-3, and was scheduled to take on Taiwanese Ko Ping-han for a spot in the next round.
Unheralded Patric Gonzales claimed the scalp of English veteran Darren Appleton, a former world 9 and 10-ball champ, 9-8 in the loser’s bracket and drew top Taiwanese Ko Pin-yi as his next opponent in the competition that gathered the top 100 pool players in the world based on their rankings and 28 wild card entries.
Also making it from the loser’s bracket were Bernie Regalario and Anton Raga, who faced Taiwanese Ko Pin-Chung and Liu Ri-Teng, respectively, while Roland Ignacio was to battle Scotland’s Elliott Sanderson.
