Luat breaks title drought with Villar Cup 9-ball championship

MANILA, Philippines – Rodolfo Luat secured the championship of the Bacolod leg of the First Senate President Manny Villar Cup Sunday night, after he defeated Ramil Gallego 13-10.

It was Luat's first championship in more than two years.

On his way to the title, the 50-year-old veteran downed giants Dennis Orcollo and Ronnie Alcano in the first two rounds before he defeated former Villar Cup winner Gandy Valle and the qualifier Michael Feliciano in the last two.

Playing in front of Gallego's hometown, Luat didn't let the hostile crowd affect him as he raced to a 6-0 lead.

Gallego chipped away at the deficit and in the 17th game, made it 9-8. He could have tied the match in the 18th rack, but he missed a shot at the 5-ball to allow Luat back at the table and fall back 10-8.

In the the 23rd rack, Luat took advantage of a Gallego dry break to methodically clean up the table and seal the trophy.

Luat will take home $15,000 (P727,500), while Gallego, who defeated Efren "Bata" Reyes to advance to the finals, earned $5,000 (P242,500).

 

- GMANews.TV

Luat ends dry spell, wins Villar Cup in Bacolod

Rodolfo “Boy Samson” Luat got off to a dazzling start and then staved off hometown bet Ramil Gallego’s fierce rallies for a 13-10 win to crown himself champion of the First Senate President Manny Villar Cup Bacolod leg Sunday night at the Garden Royal Function Hall of Goldenfields Commercial Complex in Bacolod City.

It was a breakthrough feat for the 50-year-old veteran internationalist who has not won a title in almost two years—or since winning the Taiwan leg of the 2006 San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour.

“I’m very happy with this victory, dahil napatunayan ko na kaya ko pa palang mag-champion kahit medyo lumalabo na ang aking mata,” said Luat, who also earned the top prize of $15,000 for ruling this fifth stop of the prestigious island-hopping series presented by Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine sports.

It was not an easy sailing though for Luat, who has not made past the second round in the previous Villar Cup leg.

He opened his bid by upending reigning world No.1 Dennis Orcollo, 11-6, to earn a second-round match against two-time world champion Ronnie Alcano, whom he defeated, 11-7, to advance into the quarterfinals.

There, he had a heck of a battle with Cebu leg champion Gandy Valle before prevailing, 11-9, to move within two wins of the coveted crown at stake in this four-day competition organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines,  in cooperation with the city government of Bacolod, led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia, and the Negros Billiards Stable of businessman Jonathan Sy and sponsored by Camella Communities.

He met another Bugsy boy in Michael Feliciano, a qualifier, in the semifinals, and they engaged in another tough battle before his vast experience led him to an 11-7 win.

Then came the title duel against Gallego, a Bacolodnon billiards idol who ruled the series’ Bulacan leg and who came into the match fresh from beating pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes, 11-8, in the other Final Four match.

Despite playing before a huge partisan crown rooting for his rival, Luat did not flinch and instead raced to a 6-0 lead.

Gallego, not wanting to disappoint his townmates, returned from a time-out with a 6-2 run to close in at 8-6 and make it anybody’s game.

Luat’s lead was further reduced to 9-8 and Gallego had a chance to tie the count in the 18th rack but missed the orange-5 that instead gave the former a two-point advantage.

They then split the next four frames before Gallego broke dry in the 23rd rack, and Luat methodically cleaned up the table to seal the win and become the fifth holder of the Villar Cup.

Gallego settled for the runner-up purse worth $5,000, while Reyes and Feliciano took home $2,500 each.

Meanwhile, William Millares subdued local bet Jarry Pelayo, 9-6, in the finals to bag the “Panersera-pababa” title and took the P50,000 cash prize in the side event that attracted a total of 178 players.

 

- Business Mirror

Reyes Enters Final Four With Blazing Eight Rack Run

Efren “Bata” Reyes, showing flashes of the brilliance of old, recovered from a sluggish start against another former world pool champion Kunihiko Takahashi of Japan to finish with a blazing eight-rack run to enter the Final Four in the Bacolod Leg of the 1st Senate President Manny Villar Cup.

The 54 year old Reyes playing before a huge crowd of supporters at the Garden Royal Function Hall of Goldfields Commercial Complex missed three comparatively easy shots in a poor start that saw Takahashi, the 1998 World Pool Champion grab a 4-3 lead.

Reyes who is known in the world of pool as “The Magician” then dug deep into his bag of tricks with a long, acutely-angled bank shot of the red 3 in the eighth frame and tied the match, before a scintillating stretch of break and run-outs that delighted the fans at the fifth stop of the prestigious island-hopping series presented by Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine sports.

With the triumph Reyes moved to within two wins of pocketing the top prize of $15,000 and breaking a long dry spell in the four day tournament organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines in cooperation with the Bacolod City government headed by Mayor Evelio Leonardia and the Negros Billiards Stable of businessman Jonathan Sy and sponsored by Camella Communities.

Reyes faces hometown favorite Ramil Gallego who earlier ousted Joven Bustamante 11-7 in the quarter finals while in the other semi final showdown veteran Rodolfo “Boy Samson” Luat who has had a fine run faces unheralded Michael Feliciano.

The 50 year old Luat who is known for his tendency to falter in close end-games proved he is still a threat when he beat Cebu leg winner Gandy Valle 11-7 after he got rid of former Asian Games gold medal winner Antonio Lining and 2006 World Pool Champion and 8-Ball king Ronnie Alcano.

The 24 year old Feliciano who belongs to the star-studded stable of Bugsy Promotions passionate pool enthusiast Perry Mariano made the semis by routing fellow qualifier Ronnie Aying 11-1 in a match where Feliciano opened with seben consecutive breaks and run-outs.

All four semi finalists are guaranteed $2,500 each.

Monica Webb wins WPBA Championship

Monica Webb is the new WPBA Tour Champion.

Webb had more than her fair share of close calls all week, but she always came through when she had to. Webb started the event with lopsided wins over Val Finnie and Ewa Laurance, but then had close matches with both Jeanette Lee and Anna Kostanian. Her combined margin of victory in those two matches was three games.

The first TV match for Webb saw her face off against Karen Corr. Webb trailed the match at 1-0, but took control and raced to a 4-1 lead on the way to a 7-4 win.

Next up for Webb was Vivian Villarreal, and Webb controlled this match from the opening lag. Webb led the match 3-1 and then stretched that lead to 5-1. Villarreal clawed back to 5-4 down, but that was as close as Villarreal would get as Webb won the match 7-5.

This left only #1 ranked Kelly Fisher in Monica's way. The match started out tied 1-1, and Fisher was the first to take a lead of more than one rack at 3-1. Webb came back to tie the match at 3-3, but Fisher took advantage of ball in hand from Webb in game seven to retake the lead at 4-3. Webb one again tied the match at 4-4, and finally pulled ahead for her first lead at 5-4. Webb then won a safety battle with Fisher in game ten to get to the hill at 6-4. Monica stayed aggressive and went on to win the next game for the 7-4 win and her first WPBA title.

Stevie Moore wins Steve Mizerak Championship

Gabe Owen might have come out ahead of Stevie Moore for the hot-seat at the Seminole Pro Tour's Steve Mizerak championship, but it was Moore who had the last laugh after a 9-2 win over Owen in the finals.

Moore has played some of his best pool on the Seminole Tour all year, and he had back-to-back tour wins in June and July earlier this year. Both of those wins combined were not as big for Moore as the $10,000 win this week.

Moore had wins over Ron Park and Mark Haddad on his way to the match with Owen for the hot-seat, but fell short of the hot-seat after losing to Owen 8-5.

An 8-7 win over Shane Van Boening earned Moore another shot against Owen in the finals, and he took full advantage as he cruised to the 9-2 win.

Moore pocketed $10,000 for first, while Owen took home $6000 for second.

Reyes enters Villar Cup quarterfinals

Pool legend Efren “Bata” Reyes advanced into the quarterfinals of the First Senate President Manny Villar Cup Bacolod leg after beating teenage prodigy Johann Chua, 11-6, at the Garden Royal Function Hall of Goldenfields Commercial Complex Saturday.

A report posted on AZBilliards.com said the “Magician” had to work extra hard to storm back from a 0-4 deficit to beat Chua.

The 54-year-old Reyes cleaned up the next five racks to take the lead 5-4.

The 16-year-old Chua had a break, taking two of the next three racks to tie the scores at 6-all.

Reyes, however, wiped out the succeeding five racks to earn his ticket to the quarters.

The “Magician” was coming off an easy 11-5 win over upstart Mike Takayama, prior to his match against Chua.

Chua, meanwhile, came into the match fresh from winning an 11-6 upset against Davao leg winner Roberto Gomez.

Reyes’ next opponent will be former world champion Kunihiko Takahashi, who ruled the World 9-Ball Championship in 1998.

Other players who fought it out in the quarterfinals late Saturday were Gandy Valle who will face Rodolfo Luat; Ramil Gallego against Joven Bustamante; and Michael Feliciano opposite Ronnie Aying.

The semifinals and the finals are both scheduled Sunday.

At stake in tournament are the coveted Villar Cup and the $15,000 top prize that goes with it.

Orcollo Seeks to Reinforce His No. 1 World Standing

Dennis Orcollo will try to reinforce his standing as the No. 1 player in the world when he competes in the Bacolod leg of the 1st Senate President Manny Villar Cup which begins Wednesday at the Garden Royal Function Hall of Goldenfields Commercial Complex.

The 29-year-old Orcollo has already won four major tournaments this year, but fell short of winning a title in his last two events. Partnering veteran pool legend Francisco “Django” Bustamante in the World Cup of Pool, the Filipinos were beaten in the semi finals by the US pair of “The South Dakota Kid” Shane Van Boening and Rodney “The Rocket” Morris who went on to win the crown.

Orcollo also faltered in the semi finals of  the Guinness 9-Ball Grand Finals last month in Jakarta .

Orcollo said he was hoping he  “could resume my winning ways.  I want to do it here in the Villar Cup.” Orcollo, who ruled the Quezon City 9-Ball Championship, the All-Japan Open, the Qatar International 9-Ball Open and the Guinness Tour Guangzhou has emerged as one of the most successful pool players in 2008. He is a superstar in the star-studded 

Bugsy Promotions roster of passionate pool supporter Perry Mariano.

Orcollo remarked “Actually, nothing changed in my shot making but I did get a good break in my past two tournaments. So I’m still confident that I can continue winning more tournaments.”

It certainly will not be easy for the World No.1 as he is expected  to face stiff competition in the fifth edition of the island-hopping series presented by Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports.

Unlike the four previous stagings, Orcollo  will not only take on his already tough countrymen, but also have to contend with top-class foreign contenders  led by former World Cup of Pool winner Fu Jianbo of China .

Orcollo who was runner-up to Gandy Valle in the Cebu leg said “its much harder now but I am very confident and I really want to be champion in the Villar Cup because this is the most prestigious tournament now..”

Besides the foreign players Orcollo will have to contend with a formidable roster of his countrymen including former world champions Efren “Bata” Reyes, Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano,  Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Lee Van Corteza, and previous Villar Cup leg winners Kiamco (Alabang), Gandy Valle ( Cebu ), Ramil Gallego (Bulacan) and Roberto Gomez ( Davao ).

There is also a group of rising stars led by Carlo Biado, Ricky Zerna, Mike Takayama and Michael Feliciano that Orcollo will have to contend with since they  out to make a name for themselves and win the $15,000 top purse at stake in this four day meet organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) in cooperation with the city government of Bacolod led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia and the Negros Billiards Stable (NBS) of businessman Jonathan Sy, and sponsored by Camella Communities.

The rest of the 32-man main draw is still being disputed by dozens of aspiring players through a series of qualifying tournaments being held at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar in Bacolod City.

Besides the international invitational division, there will also be the Executive Class and Amateur divisions for both men and women, where almost half-a-million pesos cash prize is at stake.

Moreover, the event will also have a series of side activities like street parties, concerts and exhibits as the event is also dubbed as “the Bacolod International VILLARDS Festival.”