NEWS  June 25, 2008  Puerto Princesa Mayor’s Cup – Almost made it to the final

The second event of the Philippine Pool Tour was played in Puerto Princesa City on the island Palawan. As the new 8-Ball World Champion, the promoters Billiards and Snookers Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) offered me a wild card and so I was directly qualified fort he final field of 32 players. The first 16 players of the last tour event were seeded as well as two local players from the region Palawan. All other spots were played in a qualification in Manila.

The format was 10-Ball according to the most recent rules of the WPA with indication of the pocket in a double KO bracket until the semi-finals. The two semi-finals were played, like the matches in the first round, in a race to 9 with winner’s break and the final was a single set with a race to 11.

Already at the opening ceremony at 9:30 a.m. almost 3,000 spectators, mainly pupils had come to the Coliseum which offers some 6,000 seats. After several rehearsals of the Puerto Princesa Wave, dedicated to the patron and Lord Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn, the players were presented to the crowd. As double World Champion, I was seeded as number one and the crowd gave me a loud and enthusiastic welcome.

Then, the matches started and in round one, I was opposed to the Philippine player Oliver Villafuerte. After a slow start where both layers tried to evaluate their opponent, I found my game and entered the next round winning 9-2. Here, I had to play Kenji Taguchi from Japan who made a strong impression. I had problems to find my game and had to watch my opponent have a lucky run. He played well and had a bit of luck and so I lost 6-9 and had to go through the loser’s bracket.

Here, my first opponent was Luis Saberdo from the Philippines, against whom I had already played several years ago, also in his home country. And as 5 years ago, I could win the match, but I really had to fight fort his win. After already leading 8-3, my opponent struggled hard and had a real run, coming back to 7-8. But then, the opportunity was there and I could win the match 9-7. My opponent in the next round was youngster Romeo Silvano (PHI), who lacked a bit of experience and got a little teaching lesson ending 9-2 for me.

Next opponent was Englishman Courtney Symons who plays for Thailand and who had surprisingly eliminated in round one Thorsten Hohmann (GER). He showed why he should not be underestimated, because after trailing 4-8, he came back into the match and scored the 7-8. Then, I had my chance and made use of it to win 9-7. The next match was the clash against Chinese player Ming Wang. Again, I started well and could take a rapid and clear lead. I managed to keep my advantage until the end and entered the quarter-finals winning 9-5. Here, I was facing an old acquaintance, who had stunned people several years ago in Germany. Antonio Gabica (PHI) had played four years in the German Bundesliga for Kiel and had won the first tour event a month earlier. Now, a spot in the semi-finals was at stake and I did not leave the slightest doubt that I wanted to get there. With an almost mistake-free performance I won the match 9-3 and entered the semi-finals, where my opponent was Chia-Ching Wu from Taiwan.

In the second semi-final, junior champion Jericho Banares (PHI) surprisingly upset his fellow countryman Marlon Manalo.

In the final between Wu and Banares, it looked like another victory of the Philippino, since he took the lead which evolved to 6-2 and 7-4. But Wu had given evidence in his last three matches that he never gives up and that he is always able to turn around the situation. And this was also the case in the final and so he started a furious come-back. The score evolved from 4-7 to 10-7 and already had one hand on the nice gold cup. But now, Wu made a mistake and brought Banares back into the match. He came back to 9-10 and in rack 20, he pocketed two balls upon his break. But he had no position on the 2 ball and now started a safety battle in several acts. Bad enough for the Philippine player: instead of equaling the score at 10-10, a bad safety brought the decision in favor of Chia-Ching Wu. He won 11-9 and the title at the Puerto Princesa Mayor’s Cup and will be full of self-confidence fort he next tournament in Doha, Qatar.

But before this next event, the official closing ceremony was held: a day trip to the longest underground river of the world in Sabang. After an adventurous travel by mini-bus, 90 minutes over weird roads, we arrived in Sabang and were brought with little boats to the cave. We entered the cave by little canoes to discover some 54,000 bats. The river is 8 km long, but we could only discover 3 of them. Unfortunately, my camera failed in the dark, so that I could not take any pictures. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is, by the way, on the selection list fort he next 7 world miracles and is currently ranked 5th.

After we came back, we drove to a bank closed fort he public where the medal ceremony was held and the tournament was officially closed.

The Philippines are always worth a trip, full of charm and surprises.