Young Pinoy, Indon advance

MANILA, Philippines -  Former junior standout Renemar David shocked fancied Pei Wei Cheng of Chinese Taipei, 9-5, at the Star Billiards Center in QC over the weekend to clinch a berth in the Philippine Open Pool Championships.

David took the first three racks, yielded the next two but bounced back to win the next four frames en route to victory and a spot in the tournament proper.

On Saturday night at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City, David made this affirmation when he wielded the upset ax on his more illustrious rival Pei Wei Cheng of Chinese Taipei, 9-5, all the way to winning the Qualifier 5.

The 21-year-old Candon, Ilocos Norte native thus became the third Filipino qualifier in the event firing off April 7 at SM Megamall after Jundel Mazon and Roberto Gomez.

Also gaining a spot was Mohamad Zulfikri, who beat Yoni Machnato in an all-Indonesian finals, 9-5.

On his way to the main draw, David toppled five foreign rivals, including Indonesian Sahroni, Chinese Wang Ming, Lim Leng of Vietnam, Johari of Indonesia and Pei.

Way ahead at 7-3, David made a dry break on the 11th rack, then miscalculated a safety shot that enabled Pei to steal the rack. The Taiwanese closed to within two despite making a dry break as David missed a shot on No. 6.