New faces hope to break ice in 15-ball

The Philippines will be leaning on Antonio Gabica and Ronnie Alcano to deliver the country’s first gold in billiards as they vie for the plum in the 15-ball rotation singles at the Makati Coliseum tomorrow.

RP team head coach Ramon Angcaja hopes the luck of the draw will end up in an All-Filipino final for the crown. Action starts at 10 a.m. with the final set at 5 p.m.

"Talent-wise, we’re very much at the advantage. But luck and ball position will play a big role in our quest for the crown and I just hope that it will all be in our favor," said Angcaja.

"But you know, the ball is round. There are breaks of the game," he added.

It will be the first SEA Games stint for Gabica and Alcano, but their impressive feats in international pool tournaments make them "marked men" in the competition.

Gabica, who started playing pool in 1983, made it big in 2004 when he emerged the first Philippine 9-Ball Open champion and copped the Tohoko Open crown two years in a row (2002 and 2003).

He’s also one of the top players in the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour.

Alcano, dubbed as The Volcano, is expected to blow up quite differently playing for the country for the first time. Known for his explosive breaks and masterful execution of shots, Alcano hogged the limelight when he turned back Busan Asian Games gold medalist Yang Ching Shun of Taiwan, 11-6, in the final leg of the San Miguel Beer Asian 9-Ball Tour.

In 2003, Alcano won US$13,710 in his year-round professional tour and got a total purse of US$20,750 in 2002 including two first places and three runner-ups in the 2003 Joss Northeast Tour.

Among their toughest rivals for the crown are Thailand’s Tepwin Arunnath and Amnuayporn Chotipong, Malaysian Ooi Fook Yuen and Indonesians Mohammad Junario and Mohammad Zulfikri.