Gallego rules Asian 9-ball leg

He came in as a replacement for 2004 world 9-ball champion Alex Pagulayan. But Ramil Gallego proved he’s no ordinary substitute, beating Hong Kong’s Au Chi Wai, 11-8, yesterday and ruling the second leg of the San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour at the Bang Na Hall in Bangkok, Thailand.

A lucky shot in the 19th rack paved the way for Gallego’s run out en route to the victory that in the early going had appeared to be too tough a task to accomplish.

But Gallego, who bundled out Efren "Bata" Reyes’ tormentor and former two-time world champion Chao Fong Pang of Chinese Taipei, also via an 11-8 win, to gain a crack at the title, never got discouraged and worked his way up from 1-5 deficit by taking the next five racks to seize control.

"I never lost hope even when I was behind. I knew that I had a chance to catch up, "said Gallego, who pocketed the top $10,000 purse staked in the event sponsored by San Miguel and organized by ESPN Star Sports’ Event Management Group.

Not bad, indeed, for a stand-in.

Au, a snooker specialist who beat Li He-wen of China in the semis, 11-9, settled for $5,000.

Gallego’s victory thus made a sweep for the Filipinos in the first two legs of this annual event after Reyes dominated the field in Vietnam last month. The third leg is set in Taiwan Aug. 4-6 before the circuit winds up in Indonesia Sept. 15-17.

Aside from Gallego and Reyes, the other Filipinos who saw action in Thailand were Marlon Manalo, who fell to Li He Wen of China in the round of eight, and Francisco "Django" Bustamante, who failed to move past the second round

The Asian Tour is the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify to the World Pool Championship. The top 10 finishers at the end of this year’s Tour will automatically enter the World Pool Championships. A total money purse of $40,000 is up for grabs in each leg of the event.