Alcano leads field in Asian 9-ball

Reigning world pool king Ronnie Alcano hopes to make up for the absence of Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante as he leads three other Filipinos against some of the best players in the region in the 2007 Guinness Asian 9-ball Tour set in key cities in Asia.

"I’m happy that I was invited here," said Alcano in Filipino through a phone patch from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where the event, formerly the San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour, was formally launched yesterday.

Reyes, who led a rare all-Filipino sweep of the circuit last year, and Bustamante, a former Asian Games gold medallist, will not be participating because of their contract with San Miguel Corp., which used to be the event’s title sponsor.

Harvey Davis, senior director of Event Management Group from ESPN STAR Sports, said Reyes and Bustamante will be missed but the show must go on.

"They will be sorely missed," said Davis. "The good thing about this is that it gives other Filipino players who are on the verge of making it big time the opportunity to succeed."

Davis said this year’s edition is bigger with the total prize money doubled from $160,000 (P8 million) to $320,000 (P16 million) with leg winners to receive $15,000 (P750,000). The grand champion gets $36,000.

Joining Alcano in the circuit are 2006 Doha Asian Games gold medal winner Antonio Gabica, Dennis Orcollo and Jeff de Luna.

The tournament kicks off in Jakarta April 20-22. The tour’s other legs are Kaoshiung, Taiwan May 18-20, Kuala Lumpur June 15-17, Singapore July 13-15 and Shanghai Aug. 3-5. The grand finale will be held Aug. 31-Sept. 2 in Bali, Indonesia.