Taiwanese hitman foils Kiamco

SINGAPORE — Warren Kiamco’s bid to win the opening leg of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour turned to bits Sunday night as the Cebuano pool master again fell victim to Taiwanese assassin Yang Ching-shun.

Kiamco won the lag but lost four of the first five racks and subsequently the duel, proving no match to the young Taiwanese player who dealt him an even bigger rout in the last Asian Games 9-Ball final in Busan.

Yang, the 24-year-old world No. 7 player who also plays golf and chess, kept his mastery of Kiamco, pulling off an 11-7 victory for the championship and the $10,000 top prize in the two-day single-knockout tournament which kicked off a five-leg Asian series presented by ESPN STAR Sports.

Kiamco, ranked No. 8 in the world but only a wild card entry here, actually waged a rally from a 3-9 deficit but could only come to within two racks, 7-9, as the Filipino bet self-destructed on the 17th rack, enabling Yang to recover and eventually bag another title in his young pool career. Kiamco settled for second place worth $5,000.

"I was shaken when he made a rally. But when the opportunity for me to clinch the game came, I simply grabbed it," said Yang, through an interpreter.

"May tsansa sana kung nakuha ko iyong 17th. Kaya lang na-miss ko iyung isang crucial shot," said Kiamco.

Truly, the 17th rack had appeared to be in the bag for Kiamco when the 32-year-old Filipino player sank the 3-ball on a tough bank shot to the right corner pocket that drew a wild applause from an appreciative crowd at the Pool Haven playing venue.

But Kiamco’s bid to narrow the gap even closer at 8-9 quickly fizzled out when he miscalculated a preparation for the 7-ball.

Kiamco was forced to make a safety shot but Yang still managed to convert it then easily pocketed the 8 and 9 for a 10-7 lead.

Yang provided a climactic ending in the match by sinking the 9-ball off the break on the 18th rack.

The champion, who was third placer in last year’s world pool championship in Cardiff, Wales, later said he was lucky he didn’t meet Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante in the tourney. Like most of the players here, Yang considered the two Filipino players the best in the field.

"Against Efren and Django, you can’t afford to commit any mistake or you’re dead," he said.

Yang defeated fellow Taiwanese Chang Chien-wen, Singapore’s Bernard Tey Choon Kiat and another Filipino Lee Van Corteza on his way to the finals. Kiamco, on the other hand, hurdled Hong Kong’s Au Chi Wai, compatriot Dennis Orcullo, Taiwanese Kuo Po-cheng and Bustamante.

Showing superb pocketing and good safety shots, Yang quickly raced to a 5-1 lead and threatened to blow Kiamco out of the playing venue by pulling further away at 9-3.

Yang also enjoyed some breaks, including one on the fourth when Kiamco bungled what had appeared to be a won rack, leaving the 9-ball on the lip of the right corner pocket. The Taiwanese snatched that rack for a 3-1 lead.

On the next rack, Yang made a well-placed safety shot, forcing Kiamco to a foul shot.

On the sixth, Yang converted the 2-ball on a long bank shot after Kiamco passed up on a push. He went on to make it 5-1.

Kiamco’s exploits included one-hit wonders on the seventh and ninth racks and a carambola shot on the 15th.

All the action in this event will be aired on STAR Sports at 9 p.m. on April 1-3 and April 8-10.