Philippine National Championship News

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2006 BSCP National Pool Championship
Results, Day by Day


August 16

New Generation Players Leading Field

New generation players got the better of the veterans during the second day of competition in the ongoing 2006 BSCP National Pool Championship at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Top seeds Alex Pagulayan, Dennis Orcullo, Ronato Alcano, Gandy Valle, Bebeng Gallego and Antonio Gabica all sported unbeaten records when the smoke cleared.

The biggest winner of the day was Gandy Valle who downed two veterans, Jose Parica 9-5, and Rodolfo Luat 9-6. Luat had earlier scored the most impressive win in the tournament, beating Napoleon Labrador 9-0. Valle now enters a third-day matchup for Final Four honors with Dennis Orcullo.

Orcullo for his part continued to steamroll through the opposition with almost mechanical regularity. He bested Jerome Pena 9-2 and Mario Tolentino 9-6 in matches with erstwhile unbeaten players.

Pagulayan, Alcano, Gabica and Gallego beat their second-day opponents to book themselves spots for power matchups on Thursday’s round. Pagulayan beat Leonardo Didal 9-6 in a match that initially went Didal’s way. Alcano breezed through Bobby Petiza 9-2. Gabica overpowered the much-feared Roland Garcia 9-3. (Garcia had upset Warren Kiamco on Monday.) Gallego continued to be impressive with a dominating victory over Jimmy Cheng, 9-2.

Losers Bracket

In the losers bracket, two teenagers, Mike Takayama and Renemar David continued to show their potential for big-time pool. Takayama beat veteran Edgar Acaba 9-7. David upset the favored Carlo Biado 9-4.

Meanwhile, seeded players who lost during the first day made up for lost ground on Wednesday. Lee Van Corteza beat Venancio Tanio 9-5. Jeffrey de Luna beat Roberto Gomez 9-2.

A total of 32 players remain in the tournament. 32 other players were booted out of the competiton at the end of Wednesday’s matches.

Check out full match results at this link: http://www.philippinepool.com/webgen/aptsplayerroster.htm

2006 BSCP National Pool Championship

News Release
August 17, Matches

Clash of champions topbills Thursday matches

It will be a clash of champions in the matches slated today at the ongoing 2006 BSCP National Pool Championship at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Top seed and US Open champion Alex Pagulayan will meet RP Open champion Antonio Gabica in the opening match at the TV table at 3 pm.

Quickly following is the clash between 2006 SMC Asian Tour champion Ramil “Bebeng” Gallego and 2005 SMC tour champion and Korean Open champion Ronato “Calamba” Alcano.

Winners of the two top-notch matches will meet tomorrow (Friday) for a slot in the Final Four.

Check out full match results at this link: http://www.philippinepool.com/webgen/aptsplayerroster.htm

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2006 BSCP National Pool Championship

August 15, Results

Seeds advance, with two casualties

Except for two notable casualties, all the top seeds advanced in the ongoing 2006 BSCP National Pool Championship at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Alex Pagulayan, Dennis Orcullo, Jose Parica, Ronato Alcano, Ramil Gallego, Rodolfo Luat, Antonio Gabica and Mario Tolentino bested their opponents to book themselves seats in the next round.

But there were two notable upsets in the opening day of the tournament. SEAG gold medalist and former SMC tour champion Lee Van Corteza was upset by Elmer Kalaquian by the score of 6-9. Napoleon Labrador beat the much-respected and bemedaled veteran Leonardo “Rattlesnake” Andam 9-6.

Among the teenage players competing in the tournament, four fell to their top-rated opponents. Bicol champion, 18-year-old Raymond Faraon fell to RP Open champion Antonio Gabica in the opening match at the TV table, by the score of 2-9. Gabica’s power breaks and overall finesse were just too much for the teenage hopeful.

BSCP Youth Champion John Cerna was beaten by rated player Jarome Pena in a hill-hill match. The fancied 14-year-old Johann “Bubwit” Choa fell to the veteran Edgardo Sibuco, 7-9.

US Open champion and 2004 world champion Alex Pagulayan breezed throsugh Davao City sensation Jec Limen by the score of 9-2 in another TV match. Limen had emerged from the qualifying tournament with a spotless record.

Among the 12 overseas Filipino players returning home for the tournament, notable first-day winners were Parica, Tolentino, Gallego, Elvis Calasang and Ruel Esquillo. Headed for the losers’ bracket were Cresencio Baliton, Joven Bustamante, and James Ortega.

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http://www.philippinepool.com/WebGen/default.htm

Final Four set today


Alex “the Lion” Pagulayan, Gandy “YanYan” Valle, Ronato “Calamba” Alcano, and Jeffrey “Bata” de Luna take the limelight today in the Final Four showdown of the 2006 BSCP National Pool Championship at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Each took a separate and thrilling route to the Final Four.

Pagulayan carved out a masterful 9-6 victory over Ronato Alcano that featured, among others, a soft break, precision position, and superb pattern play. Alcano did his best to respond but Pagulayan was simply unstoppable.

Valle took the starch out of Dennis “Surigao” Orcullo through an effective soft break and seven straight runouts. Orcullo managed to take rack no. 8, but that was all he wrote.

Coming from the losers’ bracket, Alcano bested tournament sensation Ronaldo Garcia in a thrilling hill-hill match. Trailing 5-8, Alcano took two racks in succession. Then in the 16th game, the two battled through a bout of nerves. Both players missed several shots, with Alcano finally prevailing. In the last game, he ran out the table.

Jeffrey “Bata” de Luna’s route to the Final Four was even more dramatic (see next story). He had to beat four rated players in succession: Warren Kiamco, Ramil Gallego, Antonio Gabica, and Dennis Orcullo.

The tournament now goes into a cross-over semifinals and finals. Valle will play Alcano in the 6:30 pm opening match. Pagulayan will take on De Luna in the final match of the day.

The matches will be telecast live simultaneously on NBN-4 and Sports Plus.



A new Bata emerges

In four gruelling matches yesterday (August 18), Jeffrey de Luna cemented his place in the new firmament of Philippine billiards and ensured a place in the Final Four of the 2006 BSCP National Pool Championship.

Nicknamed “Bata” because of his youth (just 21 years), de Luna took the scalps of no less than four rated players: Three-time SEAG gold medalist Warren Kiamco; SMC Tour winner and Tokyo champion Ramil “Bebeng” Gallego; 2004 Philippine Open champion Antonio Gabica; and RP money king Dennis “Surigao” Orcullo.

Kiamco fell 5-9; Gallego was routed 4-9; Gabica lost 7-9 in a tight match. And Luna beat Orcullo after the latter managed to knot the score at 6-all.

In each match, Luna’s powerful break and sharp pocketing proved to be the decisive factor.


New sensation from Pampanga


As if to cement the news that a new generation indeed is taking over, another pool sensation from Pampanga has emerged in the 2006 BSCP National Pool Championship. He goes by the name of Ronaldo Garcia, and he hails from Magalang, Pampanga.

Just 21, Garcia entered the tournament via the qualifying round held on August 12 and 13 at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City. He topped the qualifiers with a perfect record.

In the main tournament at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Garcia won match after match with just a couple of hiccups. He began by beating fellow-qualifier Richard Pornelosa in a cliffhanger, 9-8. Next, he upset rated player Warren Kiamco, 9-3.

In his third match, he stumbled against 2004 Philippine Open champion Antonio Gabica. Gabica’s power breaks and superb pattern play did not give him any room to maneuver.

But following the loss and his relegation to the losers’ bracket, Garcia went back to his winning ways. He nipped SEAG gold medalist Lee Van Corteza, 9-8. Next, he disposed of Leonardo Didal, 9-4. Then he bested Kuwait-based Mario Tolentino in a close match, 9-7.

That set up a showdown with another tournament surprise, the veteran Jimmy Cheng, who earlier upset Kaoshiung SMC Tour winner Rodolfo Luat.in a hill-hill match. Garcia proved too much for Cheng, however, as he trounced him by the score of 9-3.

The victory arranged a meeting with Ronato Alcano for a seat in the Final Four. Once more, Garcia quickly threatened to take another scalp. He reached the hill at 8-5. But from the brink of defeat, Alcano fought back.

In a thrilling and nerve-wracking 16th game, both missed several shots before Alcano won it to reach hill-hill. In the final game, Alcano prevailed.

The loss notwithstanding, Garcia had stamped himself on the tournament and on the ledger of Philippine pool. He will be someone to reckon with from hereon. And he could be a future world-beater.

http://www.philippinepool.com/WebGen/default.htm

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http://www.philippinepool.com/WebGen/default.htm

Pagulayan, Valle to Clash in Finals

Top seed Alex “the Lion” Pagulayan and Gandy Valle will clash today (August 20) for the title of Filipino national pool champion and the top purse of P1 million in the 2006 BSCP National Pool Championship at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The two won berths in the finals with similarly dominating victories yesterday.

Pagulayan took the measure of upset-conscious Jeffrey “Bata” de Luna by the score of 11-4. De Luna had entered the Final Four with impressive victories over highly rated players like Dennis Orcullo, Ramil Gallego, Antonio Gabica and Warren Kiamco.

Valle on the other hand disposed of Ronato “Calamba” Alcano, 11-5. Alcano came through the losers’ bracket via a nerve-wracking victory over new sensation Rolando Garcia.

Both Pagulayan and Valle remain unbeaten in the tournament.

De Luna won the lag in his match with Pagulayan, and he quickly broke and ran out to take a 1-0 lead. It was the last time he would have the lead. Pagulayan swiftly answered by taking the next two racks.

In the fifth rack, De Luna bobbled the 8 ball in an effort to gain better position. That proved to be the decisive turn of the match. Pagulayan cleaned up and, from thereon, never looked back.

The Valle-Alcano encounter was just as decisive. Valle spurted to a 4-0 lead after winning the lag and running out the first rack. Alcano won the fifth rack, but Valle answered by taking the next two racks in succession.

Alcano never found his rhythm throughout the match as he got stymied by the tight Brunswick pockets. In contrast, his opponent smoothly ran out balls during his turn at the table.

The Pagulayan-Valle match is set at 7pm today, immediately after the match for third place between Alcano and De Luna.

http://www.philippinepool.com/WebGen/default.htm