Pinoys settle for silver in World Pool Team Championship
It just wasn't meant to be for the Philippines' four finest shooters.
On Saturday Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado, and Rubilen Amit succumbed to China 2 in the final of the World Pool Championship in Beijing via a 4-2 scoreline.
Wang Can, Liu Hai Tao, Dang Ching Hu, Liu Shasha and Fu Xiao Fang were boosted by an enthusiastic home crowd at the Tongzhou Luhe High School in the Chinese capital as they lifted this prestigious title for the first time.
The Philippines have now lost two of the three finals in the staging of this event. They fell to Great Britain in the inaugural running of the competition in 2010, when the event was all-male.
The Chinese win US$80,000 for their efforts while the Philippines can console themselves with the runner-up prize of US$40,000.
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Liu defeated Orcollo 6-4 in mens 8 ball singles, then China went 2-0 ahead when Dang and Wang overwhelmed Corteza and Biado 6-2 in 8 ball doubles.
The deficit became 3-0 when Dang stunned Corteza 8-4 in 9 ball. Amit clawed back a point by defeating Fu 6-2 in 9 ball womens singles.
The Pinoys needed to sweep the last two 10 ball matches for a chance to force a tiebreaking shootout. Orcollo did his part by downing Wang in 10 ball singles, 7-5. But the Chinese duo of Liu Haitao and Liu Shasha held their nerve to break and run out rack 12 to win the mixed doubles 10 ball match 7-5 against Biado and Amit.
Interestingly it was reported that Liu Shasha and Fu Xiao Fang, once close friends, had a bitter falling out recently. One wonders if their success this week has helped them reconcile.
The final loss was a sorry end for a Philippine quartet that dominated opponents all throughout the competition. In the group stage they trounced Bulgaria, USA, and Poland before blanking Indonesia in the round of 16 and then eliminating defending champs Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals.
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China 1, featuring Li He Wen and Wu Jiaqing, was the next victim in the semifinal but defeating both Chinese teams (hosts get to field two sides) proved to be a bridge too far for the Filipinos.
Corteza and Orcollo were bidding to make it a second team title between them after they captured last year's World Cup of Pool in England. Unfortunately there will be no pocket billiards in the upcoming Asian Games for this bunch of players to gain redemption. They will have to wait for the next edition of the event, in 2016, to try and win it for the first time.
The event is sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association and featured 25 teams from 24 nations.
Special thanks to Tai Chengzhe and Ted Lerner, the WPA media officer, for their help in the reportage.
Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH and follow the WPA @poolwpa.
