CEBU, Philippines - Cebuano players Berto Bas and Richard Gonzales missed their mark but learned some valuable lessons out of the 2015 World Championship of Ping Pong at Alexandra Palace, London.
Bas had a memorable debut even though he stumbled in his opening assignment in the double round elimination against England's Andrew Baggaley, 0-2.
Bas quickly bounced back with a 2-1 win over Estonia's Toomas Libene, 2-1. That towed him to the knockout round, unfortunately against Gonzales, who fought in another group.
Gonzales opened his bid with a 2-0 shutout of Britain's Graham Sandley, then pulled off a 2-1 thriller over China's Shihui Zhang.
In the 32-man knockout stage, Gonzales prevailed over Bas, 2-0.
Gonzales, however, could only make it to the the quarterfinals after he lost to Belgium's Steve Bovensity in straight sets, 15-9, 15-14.
Winston Jimenez, the other Pinoy entry in this traditional table tennis action, won against England's Christopher Doran, 2-0, but lost to Romania's Aleandru Cazacu.— Caecent No-ot Magsumbol (FREEMAN)