FILIPINO POOL PLAYERS SHINE IN WORLD JUNIOR

REIGNING national junior champion Jerico Banares, current national women’s champion Zemonette Oryan and 14-year-old Jonas Magpantay got off to great starts in the 2008 World Junior Pool Championship on Monday (Tuesday in Manila time) at the Sand Regency Hotel here.

The 19-year-old Banares, who is best to remember by beating former world champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany twice this year, both in tournament setting, subdued stubborn Russian Roman Pruchai, 9-7, to pace the boy’s 19 and under event which attracted 33 players from four continent—North and South America, Europe and Asia.

With no clear pocket waiting the brown seven on the 16^th, Banares wisely played it safe. The ploy paid off as Pruchai’s counter-safety proved anything but safe.

“Alam ko na pressured na ‘yung kalaban ko dahil puro na ako kaya mas pinil ko mag-placing na lang kaysa i-doblete ‘yung siyete,” explained Banares. “Kapag nagmintis kasi ako t’yak na bi-benta sa kalaban.”

Banares actually jumped the gun on his unsuspecting foe, racing to a 5-2 lead and breaking.

But Pruchai slowly but surely inched closer and eventually grabbed the lead on the 13^th rack, 7-6.

“Solid ang pocketing ng nakalaban ko tapos minalas pa ako sa break,” said Banares.

Fortunately for him, his break on the 14^th netted him two balls and his run out knotted the count at 7-all.

An hour later, Banares blasted Nick Pera of New Zealand, 9-5, who brought downed  Alyysius Yapp of Singapore, 9-6, in the opener.

However, it was Magpantay, the least heralded Filipino in the field, scored a stunning 9-8 victory over Austin Murphy, the 2008 US Junior (19 year-old) champion.

The BCA, also the organizing group of the tournament, was glad the Filipinos joined the competition. “The Filipinos make the field deeper,” said one of the BCA officials.

Magpantay proved it.

“Suwerte lang po dahil kinalaban siya (Murphy) ng bola sa last rack,” said Magpantay, referring to the critical preparation miscue of the American with three balls left in the hill-hill affair.

The untested but supremely confident boy from Bansud, Oriental Mindoro, was the first to reach the hill despite trailing for the majority of the match.  But an empty break on the 16^th let Murphy back on the table and in the contest.

Murphy appeared to be on his way to victory after pocketing a tough shot on the green six. But the cue ball didn’t cooperate, hiding behind the black eight and leaving Murphy no choice but to play a risky cushion shot.

He fouled up and Magpantay gamely cleaned up the mess.

The 14-year-old Magpantay would next meet Chieh An-ching of Chinese Taipei, a 9-6 winner Greg Quinn of Canada.

Reigning national junior champion Jerico Banares, on the other hand, created his own luck against stubborn Russian Roman Pruchai.

Oryan, the 19-year-old Iloilo ace made it a perfect start for the Philippines by beating Michelle Yap of Singapore, 7-3. Oryan would next take on Sabrina Naverschnig of Austria, a 7-4 winner over Konischi Samia of Japan.

The country’s campaign here is being supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) headed by it’s chairman Butch Ramirez, Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP), Raya Sports, Star Billiards Center and the Philippine Billiards Foundation.

The other winners in the opening round of the double-elimination tournament were defending champion Ko Pin-yi of Chinese Taipei, Nick Tafoya, Billy Thorpe and Joshua Newman of the United States, Norio Ogawa and Hirotaka Kihara of Japan, Stefan Nolle, Nico Wehner, Marcos Garcia of Nicaragua and Manuel Ederer of Germany and Aslam Sayed Sharik of Singapore.

Photo release of WPA JUNIORS POOL CHAMPIONSHIP
BY: MARLON BERNARDINO