Alcano breaks Taiwanese hearts in San Mig Asian 9-ball tourney

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – Ronnie Alcano got some help from the red to break the heart of this democratic nation Friday night.

The Filipino qualifier made the most out of Chao Fong-Pang’s miss on the red three on the final rack to prevail, 9-8, and advance to the quarterfinals of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour at the Kaohsiung Business Center here.

"Akala ko tapos na ako nung mag-scratch ako sa 16th rack. Siguro na-pressure si Chao dahil halos lahat ng nanonood umaasa na s’ya ang mananalo," said Alcano, who is making his first appearance in the three-year-old tour.

He defeated Nguyen Thanh Nam of Vietnam in the opening round, 9-5.

Alcano actually had control of the match until a scratch on his final break allowed the two-time world pool champion to level and serve for the match.

Chao, a native of the host city, pocketed the pink four on his break and got a clear shot on the one-ball as the local fans held their breath in anticipation of a thrilling victory.

But what followed was a collective sigh of frustration after their hero left the red three hanging on the edge of the right corner pocket and let Alcano back to clean the table.

The lanky Filipino cue artist was to meet double-leg winner Yang Ching-Shun in the quarterfinals late last night.

Yang, another pool idol from Kaohsiung, earlier defeated Ryu Seung Woo of Korea, 9-3, and Fung Kwok Wai of Hong Kong, 9-4.

The winner between Alcano and Yang will go up against either Japanese Satoshi Kawabata or Malaysian Ibrahim Bin Amir, the conqueror of Efren "Bata" Reyes in the second round.

Francisco "Django" Bustamante, who is still seeking his first victory in the event sponsored by San Miguel and organized by ESPN STAR Sports, also advanced into the quarters after avenging one of his frustrating losses in the tour.

He is set to face Japanese Kunihiko Takahashi in the first TV match Saturday. Takahashi came this far after turning back Patrick Ooi of Malaysia, 9-5, and routing Chan Keng-Kwang of Singapore, 9-1.

Bustamante, on the other hand, rallied from two racks down to beat Alok Kumar of India, 9-7. Kumar stunned Bustamante in the opening round of the Singapore leg last year, 9-8.

This time, Bustamante exploited Kumar’s shaky finish to take the last four racks and the victory.

The second seeded Bustamante has won 11 straight racks combined to close out his first two assignments. He clustered seven in his 9-2 opening round win over Kuo Po-Cheng of Taiwan.