Alcano stalled; Orcullo, 4 others gain Last 32

MANILA, Philippines - Little-known Korean Hwang Yong put a wrench on the Filipino juggernaut as he upstaged fancied Ronnie Alcano, 9-7, in Day 2 of the Philippine Open Pool Championships at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall yesterday.

But the other favored Phl ace, reigning world 8-ball titlist Dennis Orcullo, dodged the upset axe as he posted a come-from-behind 9-7 victory over Kuwait-based Pinoy Allan Cuartero, for his second win in the meet and a Last-32 berth.

Four other Phl bets assured themselves of Round of 32 places, including Antonio Lining, Lee Van Corteza, Renemar David and Jundel Mazon.

Alcano dropped to the losers’ bracket with the loss and needed to sweep his next matches – five – to stay in contention.

“Naunahan ako sa score na 6-2 at medyo masama rin ang laro ko, nagkabitin-bitin sa placing (He got to a 6-2 headstart and I couldn’t really get going on my pocketing and positioning),” said Alcano, who actually managed to catch up with the Korean at 7-7 but just couldn’t salvage the victory.

Alcano also complained of discomfort in the early part of match as he couldn’t call a timeout to relieve himself. Tournament organizers allow timeouts only after the ninth rack.

“I had to go to the restroom by the fourth rack but had to wait until the ninth to call for a timeout. I hope they consider changing this rule,” he said.

Slow-starting Orcullo nearly befell the same fate as Alcano’s when he trailed 1-4 and 3-5 but escaped the upset axe in the end. Orcullo pounced on the opportunity when Cuartero fouled off a jump shot in the ninth rack and went on to win five of the next six racks to get on the hill.

He appeared on his way to wrapping up the match but fouled on the 5-ball, allowing Cuartero to clean up and make it a 7-8 score. Orcullo won a positioning battle in the 16th rack, eventually cleaning up the table after Cuartero’s miss at the 1-ball.

“Expected na talaga na ganito kahirap, halos lahat ng kasali dito may tira. Dikit ang laban at swertihan din sa bola (Everyone’s capable of beating everyone and we expect tight matches that’s oftentimes decided by breaks), “ said Orcullo, who also had to fight back in his 9-7 win over Demosthenes Pulpul the other day.

He admitted to having difficulty adjusting to the TV table, had a more humid atmosphere than the non-TV table that he played in Day 1.

In women’s play, reigning women’s world 10-Ball champion Jasmin Ouschan of Austria blanked Veronique Menard of Canard, 9-0, in an auspicious start later matched by Ga Young Kim, who also routed Aradhana Naik of India.

Ouschan and Ga’s one-sided victories marked the first day action in the distaff side marred by a stunning upset win by unfancied Wu Jing of China, who downed veteran Allison Fisher of Great Britain, 9-7.