Kiamco, Corteza open billiards bid

HO CHI MINH (Via Globe Telecom) — As sure as night follows day the Philippines will draw first blood in the 22nd SEA Games billiards and snooker competition as reigning rotation and 8-ball champions Warren Kiamco and Lee Van Corteza play in tandem in the 9-ball pool doubles tomorrow.

"Pwedeng i-pangako dahil race to nine. Hindi nakakatakot hindi gaya sa Kuala Lumpur na race to five, mayroon silat," said Kiamco whose partnership with Venancio Tanio fell in ambush in the quarterfinals in the 2001 Games.

Kiamco, 33, and Corteza, 24, open their campaign and the projected three-gold RP sweep of the billiards events versus the Thai pair of Chatchawan Rutphae and Mana Upraphai.

The two accounted for the two of three golds delivered by the Pinoy pool masters in Kuala Lumpur with Kiamco ruling the rotation and Corteza the 8-ball curiously both at the expense of Efren "Bata" Reyes.

Another three-gold haul looks in the bag for Team Philippines with Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante seeded first and second in 9-ball and Corteza and Antonio "Nikoy" Lining also ranked one and two in 8-ball.

But these masters themselves couldn’t predict what would happen in snooker.

"Sa billiards walang talo, pero sa snooker hindi natin masabi," said Lining, gold medal winner of the Busan 9-ball doubles in tandem with Bustamante.

Carrying the RP colors in snooker are Reyes (1 and 3 cushion carom and doubles), Manalo (snooker doubles), James Ortega (snooker doubles), Emilio Verdizula Villariza (parte libre and cadre 47/1) and Reynaldo Grandea (3 cushion carom, doubles, parte libre and cadre 47/1).

"Ang daming snooker ang paglalabanan dito. Siguro pagdating sa atin (Philippines in 2005), tambakan naman natin ng billiards events," said Lining. — Nelson Beltran