Gabica eases through last 32: 5 other Pinoys also advance but Orcollo, Corteza bow out of World 9-Ball tilt

CEBU, Philippines - Veteran Cebuano shotmaker Antonio “Gaga” Gabica cruised past his Iranian foe without so much hassle to join five other Pinoys into the last 32 knockout stage of the $200,000 WPA World 9-Ball Championship at the Al Saad Sports Club in Doha, Qatar.

Gabica easily downed Medhi Rasekhi, 11-7, to jack up his campaign of winning the coveted championship that slipped out of his hands last year in heart-breaking fashion last year.

The pride of Lapu-Lapu City nearly made history during the 2013 edition of the world’s biggest and most prestigious billiards tournament when he advanced to the final round, only to blow away a 9-6 lead and eventually lost to Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann.          

This time, Gabica is well within the range of the $30,000 grand prize along with his compatriots Carlo Biado, Ramil Gallego, and there relatively unknown players Raymond Faraon, Elmer Haya, Johann Chua.

Biado, last year’s semifinalist, kept his title hunt alive with an 11-6 demolition of Poland’s Meiszko Fortunski, while the Bacolod City-native Gallego stunned two-time world champion Ralf Soquet by the slimmest of margins, 11-10, sending the German star to an unexpected early exit.

Faraon, Haya and Chua, however, provided the biggest surprise for the Philippine contingent as they silently, but sharply crawled their way to the top.

Faraon handily beat Taiwan’s Liu Cheng Chieh, 11-5, Haya prevailed over Francisco Felicilda, 11-4, in an all-Pinoy duel, while Chua sent  Italian Daniele Corrieri packing, 11-4.

Gabica’s fellow Cebuano player in Warren Kiamco was not as lucky, crashing out of the week-long tournament together with top seeds Dennis Orcollo and Lee Van Corteza.

Kiamco got his exit papers from Wang Can of China, 11-9, Orcollo was booted out by Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, 11-8, while Corteza’s bid came to an end following an 11-6 defeat to rising Qatari star Waleed Majed.

The other Filipino casualty in the final 64 was Jeffrey de Luna, who fell prey to Canada’s Jason Klatt via an 11-6 decision. (FREEMAN)