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Philippine Bets, De Luna and Gomez  Defeat Opening Assignments

Aug 03 2007, Shanghai:  The Philippine bid for its first Guinness 9ball Tour victory this year looked promising as two of the country's young pool stars displayed much poise and skill to topple their first assignments in the group stages here at the tournament's penultimate stop in Shanghai.

Jeffrey De Luna overcame the challenge of Indonesia's top bet and noted giant-killer Ricky Yang, 9 – 7, while Roberto Gomez moved one step closer to clinching a Grand Final slot by decimating Singapore's standout cuiest Bernard Tey, 9 – 3.

Racing to an early 4 – 2 advantage against Yang, the 2006 DOHA Silver medallist was able to dictate the tempo of the match as frustrated his opponent with precise positional plays and consistent potting. But midway through the contest, the Indonesian finally began to heat up which allowed him get back in the game via break and run outs at the 7th, 9th, 11th racks to have the score 5 – 6.

Rattled by the sudden shift in momentum, De Luna momentarily lost his concentration to bungle a simple four ball approach at the 13th rack and a foul on a counter safety attempt on the blue 2 in the next. The two consecutive errors breathed life into Yang's campaign as he managed to capitalize on the Filipino's miscues and level the score at 7 racks a-piece.

Breaking next, Yang, the 2006 POBSI National champion, could have retaken the lead but unfortunately his stroke betrayed him on the one ball pot off the break causing him to fluke shot. Reluctantly Yang trudged back to his seat as he watched De Luna effortlessly clean up his mess to sit on the hill 8 – 7.

It was the last time the Sungei Brambang native would see action in the Group C opener as De Luna, already able to recover from his earlier mistakes attacked the table – utilizing his patented power break to give him a clear path towards victory.

It was a different story over at the Group B preliminaries. While De Luna had to struggle versus Yang, his compatriot, Gomez, encountered little resistance from the Tour's eighth seeded competitor Tey.

In a matchup that had serious implications for the campaigns of the two players as Gomez and Tey both needed to produce remarkable performances in Shanghai in order to ensure a slot for Bali where only the Top Ten will qualify.

Although the Singaporean was already occupying a slot in the Top Ten with 100 aggregate points, bowing down in the preliminaries was not a desired option as a poor performance could jeopardize his Grand Final ticket given the myriad of challengers just outside the cut-off margin. On the other hand, Gomez, with 60 points through his stints in the Genting Highlands and Singapore legs, needs to reach at least the finals to have a shot at the US$70,000.00 rich Grand Final. For the Filipino, losing at this stage of the three day tournament was not an option.

As such, winning the Shanghai opener in such an emphatic fashion could only prove to bolster Gomez' confidence and morale.

Right off the get go, the willpower to succeed was evident in the Filipino. From the way he approached the table to the way he observed his opponent play, Gomez was the epitome of determination and fortitude.

Also known as the "Superman" in the local circuit, Gomez showcased remarkable skill and pace control to steal the thunder from Tey right off the get go. Although it was obvious his form was on, Gomez never forced the issue as he remained patient and chose to pick his shots carefully.

This approach proved to be most effective and was the winning formula for the Filipino in his encounter with Tey who only managed to score in  the 1st, 6th and 10th racks.

For the second wave of group matches, De Luna will be testing the pocketing prowess of China 's Fu Jian Bo while Gomez will challenge Li He Wen, another Chinese bet who is also chasing Order of Merit points.

Two more Filipinos were seeing action as of press time. Lee Vann Corteza was clashing with Thailander Nitiwat Kanjanasri and in the evening sesion, duel it out with Chinese-Taipei's sentimental favourite Chao Fong-Pang. The reigning Philippine champion with 80 Order of Merit points needs to have a flawless execution of his game as well as he is currently tied with Hong Kong's Au Chi Wai and Naoyuki Oi for the tenth spot. Meanwhile, Ronato Alcano will have less pressure in his Group F draw against China 's Zhang Shu Chun and Oi as he already has 110 accumulated points through his participation in the 2007 tour.

ESPN STAR Sports dedicates 15 hours of live and exclusive coverage for this thrilling leg. Telecast of Asia's premier pool competition will be carried LIVE on STAR Sports with fifteen hours of exhilarating competition from 3 to 5 August. Broadcast times are as follows:

Fri,  03 August, 2007  from 5.00 pm (HKT)    Preliminaries (3 Matches)
Sat, 04 August, 2007   from 12.00pm (HKT)    Quarterfinals (4 Matches)
Sun,05 August, 2007 from 12:00pm (HKT)   Semi-finals & Finals (3 Matches)
(Competition on Friday will start at 11am; TV Schedules subject to change without prior notice)

For more information on the Tour, please check out www.guinness9balltour.com. For the latest schedules and program information on ESPN STAR Sports, catch us on the net at www.espnstar.com.

The Guinness 9Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU) and organized by ESPN STAR Sports' Event Management Group (EMG). Guinness is the title sponsor for the Tour. The local sanctioning body is the Chinese Billiards & Snooker Association. 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 Venue is the Shanghai Hotel.STAR Sports is the official broadcaster while SMG is the official Broadcast Partner.

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