Pinoy pool masters off to hot start

MANILA, Philippines — Reigning US Open champion Carlo Biado led a fiery start for Filipino cue masters in the Abu Dhabi Open 9-Ball Championship Tuesday at the Power Break Billiard Hall in the United Arab Emirates.

Biado flexed his muscle with a 9-0 shutout of opening-day opponent Mohammad Eiljefrey of host UAE in his first competition since his celebrated triumph in the US Open last September.

Roland Garcia, who was runner-up to Biado in the 2017 World Pool Championship, likewise dominated his hometown foe, Hussain Ali, with a 9-4 scoreline.

Also hurdling their respective assignments in the double-elimination format event were Israel Rota, Arman Cagol, Jayson Nuguid, Arnel Bautista, Oliver Medenilla and Aivhan Maluto.

Rota and Maluto hacked out identical 9-5 wins over their respective UAE rivals, Mohamad Ali and Abdulla Al Nuami, while Medenilla had the same winning score over Iran’s Mohamad Fharaj.

Nuguid, Bautista and Cagol triumphed over fellow Filipinos Carlo Raymundo (9-7), Jhun Banlasan (9-4) and Jordan Banares (9-5), respectively.