De Luna outlasts Ignacio, cops Kings 10-ball title

MANILA, Philippines – Jeff "The Bull" de Luna outlasted Jeffrey "Straight Shooter" Ignacio in a thrilling finale, 11-9, to crown himself as champion of the inaugural Battle of the Kings 10-ball Challenge at King of Sports Resto Bar Friday night.

De Luna's fancied powerbreaking abandoned him in the championship match but he banked on his experience in positional plays to get the better of the exchanges with the younger Ignacio and claim the Php100,000 winner-take-all prize.

"Walang pumapasok sa break, always dry breaks kaya nagkadikdikan. May errors din ako, dalawang scratch (I couldn't make a good break and committed a number of errors, including two scratches and it lead to a tight contest)," said de Luna.

"Hindi ko siya sinabayan sa shooting, idinaan ko sa depensa. Safety ang nagpanalo (I relied more on defense, playing safeties, that was the key)," he added.

After battling on even terms through 16 racks, De Luna took the driver's seat as he pounced on a crucial scratch committed by Ignacio in pocketing the 6-ball in the 17th. "The Bull" then made a rare good break and ran out to get on the hill at 10-8 but in the succeeding break, he drove the cue off the table, allowing Ignacio to cut the deficit to one rack.

De Luna got a golden opportunity when Ignacio broke dry but then he fumbled a long shot on the 9-ball. "Straight Shooter" sank the 9-ball but without good positioning on the 10-ball, missed it completely, giving de Luna another chance to wrap it all up.

"Na-pressure ako sa nine (I felt the pressure in shooting the 9-ball), De Luna said. "Buti na lang nagkamali siya sa preparasyon sa 10. Pero nahirapan din ako dun sa 10 (I got fortunate he miscalculated his preparation on the 10 and I was able to pocket it despite a difficult angle)."

The 30-year-old De Luna bested seven top cuemasters in the one-on-one tournament backed by MWS and King of Sports. Other participants were former world titlists Efren "Bata" Reyes, Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Dennis Orcollo and Ronnie Alcano, world no. 3 Carlo Biado, and Johann "Bubwit" Chua.