Peach keeps foreign bets run, halts Alcano

MANILA, Philippines - Britain’s Daryl Peach kept the foreign bets’ domination of the Philippine Big-time Billiards Face Off Series as he pulled off a come-from-behind 9-7 victory over Ronnie Alcano at Pagcor Airport Casino in Parañaque City Saturday night.

Peach, 39, fought back from 2-7 down by winning seven straight racks to frustrate the former world 8-ball and 9-ball champion and complete the stirring victory.

“I didn’t lose hope despite falling 2-7 because of the winner’s break format. I knew it can turn around the situation,” said Peach, who also beat Roberto Gomez to cop the world 9-ball crown at Smart-Araneta Coliseum in 2007.

It was Peach’s third win over Alcano in four meetings. He beat the Filipino ace in the 2006 International Pool Tour (IPT) in Las Vegas and in the 2007 World Pool (9-ball) Championships in Manila.

Alcano defeated Peach in the 2007 World 8-ball Championships in United Arab Emirates.

The race-to-9, 10-ball match was organized by Mega Sports World and BRKHRD Corp. and held in cooperation with Airport Casino Filipino, Crown Sound System, Sakura Amplifiers, Home Theater Systems, Malungai Life Oil, Diamond Billiard table, Hermes Sports Bar, I-Bar, Golden Leaf Restaurant, Bugsy Promotions, Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) with The Philippine Star as the official media partner.

After forcing a tie at 7, Peach made a scratch but Alcano failed to cash in on the miscue, enabling the Briton to win the 15th rack before scoring a break-and-run to clinch the match.

Peach, who won $5,000, faces world 9-ball champion Francisco “Django” Bustamante on Nov. 26.

German ace Ralf Souquet had earlier defeated Dennis Orcollo and Carlo Biado in the first two matches in the series aired worldwide through www.megasportsworld.com, www.philippinebigtimebilliards.com, www.starbilliards.com, www.starbilliards.com.ph, Solar Sports, Sky Channel 70 and Destiny Channel 34.