Friday The 13Th

Friday The 13Th

On the eve of Friday the 13th, Filipino players who earned spots in the last 64 stage of the World Ten Ball Championship have gone up to 13.

Lee Van Corteza, runner-up in the second staging of the WTBC two years ago, became the 13th Pinoy player to reach the knockout stage of the event following a 9-4 win over Raj Hundal in the late night match at the World Trade Center.

Corteza broke free from a slim 5-4 lead by taking advantage on Hundal’s inconsistent pocketing.
Slowly but surely, the Filipino cue artist were able to gain the momentum.

In the 12th rack, Corteza tested Hundal’s skills by taking safety shot at ball No.1.

The British-Indian player took a gamble on taking a shot at No. 1 – and missed it. That allowed a clear opening for the Filipino, who sank the ball at the corner and cleaned up the rest of the balls for an 8-4 lead.

Off the break in the 13th rack, Corteza sank the No. 5. He opted for safety again on No.1.

Hundal tried a combo shot on Nos. 1 and 10 and missed it, but Hundal found no opening for No.1, took a gamble on taking a shot and was called for a foul in the process.

With ball in hand, Corteza had no problem sinking the first ball. He tried for a combo shot on 2 and 8 at the side pocket, but missed it. After making the No.3, Hundal had a clear look at the No.4 at the corner, but missed it.

With balls scattered perfectly at every corner, Hundal conceded the match to Corteza.

Earlier, Jundel Mazon, one of the few players who earned his spot via the qualifying stage last week, also secured a seat in the last 64 stage of the tournament.

Mazon nearly swept fellow Filipino and veteran campaigner Rodolfo Luat, 9-1.

Corteza and Mazon will join their compatriots headed by former Asian Games gold medalist Antonio Gabica, who qualified to the last 64 earlier, along with inaugural WTBC semifinalist Demosthenes Pulpul, young turks Jerico Banares, Jonas Magpantay, Carlo Biado and Marvin Tapia.

On Wednesday, Filipino world champions Dennis Orcullo and Ronnie Alcano, Jeff de Luna, Roberto Gomez and Vicencio Taino were the first wave of Pinoy bets who made it to the last 64.

Big guns fall

As the spotlight now starts to focus on the players competing in the last 64, some of the big names are surprisingly not included on the roster.

World champions Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet of Germany, the two protagonists of the recently-concluded Philippine Open Pool Championship, have bowed out of the WTBC this early. So as world No.1 player Antonio Lining of the Philippines and top-rated players Neils Feijen of the Netherlands, and Yang Ching Shun and Chang Jung Lin of Chinese Taipei.

Hohmann was stunned by his less heralded compatriot Sascha Tege, 9-6.

In the evening, it was his buddy and pool idol, Ralf Souquet who became the victim of the upset ax.

Souquet, a double world champion, lost to Huidji See of the Netherlands, 9-4.

See dictated the tempo of the match early, racing to 4-0 lead. The German ace just couldn’t get his game going and had difficulty establishing a run. The closest he could come in was within 4-6. Worse, he committed a foul at ball No.3 while trailing 4-8.

See wasted no time disposing off the remaining balls and pulling of a king-sized upset against a player regarded as one of the best in the tournament.

Lining lost to Biado early, 6-9, while Feijen was defeated by former Philippine Open Pool champion Ricky Yang, 9-6.

Yang Ching Shun, back in the world pool scene after a two-year layoff, lost to Muhammad Zulfikri of Indonesia in a hill-hill encounter, 9-8, while Chang lost earlier to Pulpul, 9-6.