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Alcano And Wu First To Make It To Semis

May 18, 2007 Kaohsiung – Two reigning World champions, Ronato Alcano ( WPA 8ball and 9Ball Champion) and Wu Yu-Lun (WPA Junior 9Ball Champion)   will be moving on to the semifinals of the second leg of the 2007 Guinness 9Ball Tour Championships after burning their respective quarterfinal opponents here at the jam-packed Kaohsiung Business Exhibition center.

Topping their respective groups during the elimination round last Friday, Alcano overcame a miserable shooting performance to defeat Singapore's Chan Keng Kwang, 9-5, while Taiwan's newest teen sensation Wu burned his compatriot Lu Hui-Chan, 9-4,   to bag a semifinals ticket in the annual event organized by ESPN STAR Sports.

Getting off to a quick 6 - 2 start, Calamba-City based Alcano, actually had quite a frustrating time in his match against Chan as he was unable to put away a couple of key shots in the final stretch of the match which allowed his Singaporean rival to chip away at his lead.

Sitting on the hill at 8 – 3, Alcano seemed to be tentative in his approach to the table which resulted in a lot of missed opportunities for the Filipino. Fouls at the 9 th and 13th rack plus a runout by Chan in the 12th saw the Singaporean advance his score against the double world champion, 5 –  8. But a crucial miscue by Chan in the 14 th rack gave Alcano a routine bank shot at the 9ball which he successfully pocketed at the corner to finally end the match at 9 – 5.

Three time Junior World Pool Champion Wu Yu-Lun on the other hand had a much easier time trumping the sleepy-eyed Lu Hui-Chan. Demonstrating incredible cue control and awesome power-breaking, the 17-year old youngster did not even have a chance to break sweat as he effortlessly ended the challenge of his countryman at 9 – 4.

The three other Filipinos, Antonio Gabica, Alex Pagulayan and Antonio Lining all failed to move past the group stage as they split their two assignments.

Lining suffered a heartbreaking, 9 - 8,  loss to long time rival Chao Fong-Pang of Taiwan, but edged out India's Dharminder Singh Lilly, 9 - 7. Pagulayan, who was in a weakened state due to food poisoning, lost to Indonesia's top seeded player Ricky Yang, 9 -4, but nosed out Korea's Ryu Seung-Woo, 9 - 8. Gabica never really posed much of a threat to Taiwan's three time Junior World Pool champion Wu Yu-lun as he lost, 9 - 4, and then closed out the group stages with a win over Singapore's Bernard Tey Choon Kiat, 9 -8.

Alcano will next meet the winner of the quarterfinal duel between former World Pool Champion Chao Fong-Pang and Pagulayan's tormentor Ricky Yang. The lanky Filipino cue-artist already has a guaranteed prize of US$3,500for making it to the semifinals.

The other semi-finals matchup will have Wu taking on either another fellow Taiwanese Yang Ching-Shun or Hong Kong bet Au Chi-Wai.

Formerly the Asian 9-Ball Tour, the Guinness 9-Ball Tour has been made bigger and better for players and fans alike with the new partnership between ESPN STAR Sports and Guinness. Total prize money has doubled to US$320,000 (from US$160,000 from last year's tour) and the Tour will feature a grand final in Bali for the Top 10 players. Winners of each leg will win US$15,000 while the Grand Final Champion will walk away with US$36,000.

The Guinness 9-Ball Tour remains the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify for the WPA World Pool Championship. The top ten finishers in the Guinness 9-Ball Tour Order of Merit will automatically qualify for pool's most prestigious event, this year's edition slated for a second straight staging for Manila in November.

STAR Sports will be airing the semifinals and finals match today.

Broadcast times are as follows:

‧ Sun     May20  11:30 - 16:00 (HKT)        Semis & Final   (3 matches)

Admission to the competition venue at the Kaohsiung Business Exhibition Center is free.

The Guinness 9-Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU) and organised by ESPN STAR Sports' Event Management Group (EMG). Guinness is the title sponsor for the Tour. 188Bet is the Gold Sponsor. Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls respectively. Brunswick Metro provides the official pool table while Predator is the official cue. The official apparel is BCLN. The venue sponsors are the Kaohsiung City Government and the Kaohsiung Organising Committee for the 2009 World Games.

For more information on the Tour, please visit www.guinness9balltour.com.

For the latest schedules and program information on ESPN STAR Sports, please visit www.espnstar.com

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