JEFF de Luna and Roberto Gomez, aside from having established their reputations as among the country’s top pool players, are also proving they are consummate escape artists as well.
The Pinoy duo pulled off an outstanding Houdini-like comeback, rallying from a 0-5 deficit to stun Americans Skyler Woodward and Billy Thorpe 7-5 in the second round of the World Cup of Pool in Milton Keynes, England early yesterday.
Groping for form and the right breaks in the first five frames, De Luna and Gomez displayed nerves of steel and finally found their groove to reel off seven straight wins against their dumbfounded rivals to advance to the quarterfinals of the $250,000 competition.
Already assured of $9,000 (roughly P430,000 each) for reaching the quarterfinals, they next tackle Estonia’s Dennis Grabe and Mark Magi, who scored a nerve-wracking 7-6 triumph over Britain-A hometown favorites Jason Shaw and Chris Melling, for a spot in the semifinals.
The match was set to be played at around 6:30 p.m. yesterday (1:30 am. Friday Manila time), with the winner moving to the finals where the winner will receive $120,000, or $60,000 for each player (roughly P2.8 million).
“Suwerte, malamig game namin sa simula. Na-straight sa unang five racks. Pero noong nabigay sa amin ang chance, kinuha na namin at hindi pinakawalan. Swerte lang,” said the relieved De Luna, a 2006 Doha Asian Games silver medalist.
“Ready kami kahit sino makalaban, gagawin namin para maibalik sa Pilipinas ang title,” Gomez added in an interview with Radyo Pilipinas 2.
The Philippines has won the prestigious World Pool 9-ball doubles crown thrice, including the inaugural edition in 2006 behind the powerhouse tandem of Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante in Newport, Wales,
Reyes and Bustamante repeated the trick in 2009 at the Araneta Coliseum while Dennis Orcollo and Lee Van Corteza lifted the trophy in 2013 in London.
Gomez and Carlo Biado fell one step short of giving the country its fourth World Pool crown when they lost 3-11 in the finals to the Austrian duo of Mariano He and Albin Ouschan two years ago in Leicester, England.
