CEBU, Philippines - Cebu's pride Antonio "Gaga" Gabica and Carlo Biado kept the Philippine flag flying high after they stormed into the semifinal stage of the 2012 World 9-Ball Championship at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha, Qatar.
Gabica, a one-time 'Athlete of the Year" by the Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) for winning gold medal for Phl in billiards during the 2007 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand, outlasted German star Oliver Ortmann, 11-8, then beat Ko Pin Yi of Chinese-Taipei, 11-9, before eliminating Dutchman Nick Van Der Berg via an 11-10 thriller to proceed into the penultimate round.
The 41-year-old Gabica, who hails from Lapu-Lapu City, will face next Karl Boyes of United Kingdom, who who advanced following an Nick Ekonomopoulos of Greece, 11-8.
Gabica's fellow countryman Carlo Biado also kept his hunt for the whopping US$36,000 (Php1.5 milllion) grand prize after he pulled off a lopsided 11-3 win over Chris Melling of United Kingdom.
Before his masterful demolition of Melling, Biado literally had to pass through the wringer before getting rid of Italian terminator Fabio Petroni via an 11-10 cliffhanger.
Up next for Biado is German veteran Thorstenn Hohmann, who gained berth into the elite Final Four after booting out another Pinoy cue master Jeffrey de Luna, 11-7.
On behalf of his compatriots, Biado seeks no less than revenge against Hohmann, who was also responsible for ousting Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo, the highest-ranked Filipino player in the field.
Regardless of the semifinal results, Gabica and Biado already assured themselves of at least $10,000 (Php430,000) in prize money. They would balloon to $18,000 if they will make it to the championship round.
The last Filipino to rule the prestigious tournament sanctioned by the World Pool Association (WPA) was Francisco 'Django' Bustamante in 2010. The other Pinoy players who have had reigned as world pool champs were Efren "Bata" Reyes in 1999 and Ronnie "The Volcano" Alcano in 2007 when the country hosted the event for the first time. (FREEMAN)