4 more RP cue artists advance

Four more local bets gained berths in the main draw, bringing to 21 the total number of Filipinos seeing action in the $400,000 World Pool Championship firing off tomorrow at the Philippine International Convention Center at the CCP Complex in Manila.

Leonardo Andam trampled Ryoji Aoki of Japan, 9-4, in the final to top Qualifier 10 at the Star Billiards Center in QC Wednesday. The veteran campaigner earlier beat Kento Yonazu, 7-2, Daniel Chua, 7-2, Manabu Taruhara, 7-3, Stefan Sellberg, 7-2 and Cheng Tsung Hua, 7-3.

Takano Tomoo, meanwhile, ruled Qualifier 9, besting local bet Elvis Perez, 9-6, via two golden breaks and steady pocketing and position play. Perez made it to the final by beating Renemar David, 7-4.

With the completion of the 10-stage qualifying round, four other spots in the WPC main draw were also filled up via the point system. The four qualified players, in the order of their ranking, were Chin Ju-chen of Chinese Taipei, Jharome Peña, Rudy Morta and Israel Rota.

Chinese Taipei, meanwhile, will have 16 players with the additional four coming from the qualifiers.

The five-day qualifying round also served as a fitting curtain-raiser for the main tournament.

"If the qualifiers are a preview of what is to come, we will have a great world championship here in Manila," said Yen Makabenta, president of Raya Sports, the local WPC organizer.

The board of the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines, led by Makabenta and BSCP president Ernesto Fajardo, also took the opportunity to thank Sebastian Chua, president of Star Paper Corp., for hosting the WPC qualifiers at the Star Billiards Center.