Alcano tames Reyes; 4 other Pinoys gain

MANILA, Philippines - Ronnie Alcano topped Efren “Bata” Reyes, 8-5, in a duel of former World 9-Ball champions, joining four other Filipinos with unblemished marks after three rounds of the 10th Predator International 10-Ball Championship at SM North EDSA yesterday.

Alcano beat Reyes with razor-sharp pocketing and well-placed safeties to advance to the fourth round versus Finnish pool ace Mika Immonen.

Dennis Orcollo, Lee Van Corteza, Alex Pagulayan and Roberto Gomez were the other Filipinos making it to the fourth round in the winners bracket.

American Rodney Morris, runner-up to Corteza in the recent Predator World 10-Ball Tour, overcame the tough challenge of Elvis Calasang, 8-6, to join the group.

Orcollo crushed American Corey Deuel, 8-7; Corteza squeaked past Ramil Gallego, 8-7; Pagulayan whipped American Charlie Williams, 8-5; and Gomez drubbed Carlo Biado.

Gomez reached the third round as he beat Francisco “Django” Bustamante, 8-7, in a classic match late Wednesday night.

Reyes and Bustamante were relegated to the losers’ bracket where another loss means outright elimination from the championship race.

Bustamante rebounded from a loss to Gomez as he clobbered Dondon Razalan, 8-5, during yesterday’s morning session.

Also picking up a win in the losers’ bracket were Jeff de Luna, Warren Kiamco, Demostenes Pulpul, Nikoy Lining, Edgar Acaba and Marlon Manalo.

De Luna defeated Val Pajuay, 8-2; Kiamco dumped Japanese Ken Yukio, 8-1; Pulpul humbled Indon Rudy Susanto, 8-4; Jake Limen rolled over Russian Vitaly Pavlukhin, 8-2; Acaba surged past Victor Arpilleda, 8-6; and Manalo waylaid Qatari Muhammad Bin Ali, 8-5.

On the TV table over at The Block, Pagulayan showed poise and confidence, beating Williams in the crunch.

Pagulayan, also a former World 9-Ball champion, arranged an exciting fourth-round showdown with Gomez.

Another top-notch fourth-round match pits Orcollo and Corteza.

Corteza has been on a roll dating back to the Predator World 10-Ball Tour which he won over Morris.