Chinese Taipei continued its strong run the Guinness 9 Ball Tour with three players qualifying for tomorrow's semi-final match at the Grand Final in Bali. The Philippines ' Lee Van Corteza completes the final four, who will play for the title of Grand Champion and the top prize of US$36,000.
Needing one more win today to confirm his place in the semis, Wu Chia-Ching continued his undefeated run with a convincing win over Ronato Alcano, nearly whitewashing the Filipino with a score of 9-1.
Right off the opening break, Wu opened up the match strong with a table rout in the first rack and a break and run-out in the second frame. In fact, Wu was unfazed by a stunning five-nine corner pocket combo from Alcano in the third frame as the 2005 World Pool Champion easily capitalized on a nine-ball blunder by the "Volcano" later in the fourth rack to increase up his lead to 3-1.
Tried as he might, Alcano never got his stroke going as he suffered unlucky rolls off the break, leaving him with little choice but to adopt a defensive approach, which disrupted the normally offensive rhythm of the Filipino favourite.
At the eighth rack, Wu successfully connected on an incredible two-nine combo off the break to humble the Filipino ace, who subsequently committed another crucial error with a side pocket scratch during his break at the ninth canto to allow his Chinese Taipei rival another easy run at the table and own an overwhelming 8-1 advantage.
This proved to be the last time Alcano approached the table as Wu closed the match in emphatic fashion with a rare golden break.
Said Wu: "I was really pleased with my performance in the preliminary round. I played an equally solid offensive and defensive game and committed few mistakes - I hope to continue this good run tomorrow!"
In his other match, the 2005 World Pool Champion defeated Indonesia's Ricky Yang 9-6 to further assert his dominance in Group A to enter the semi-final round as the competition's top seed.
Following suit, the Philippine National Champion Corteza sizzled in Day two as he won both his matches today against Chang (9-3) and Malaysia 's Ibrahim Amir (9-5) to cement his semi-final place. In danger of being eliminated due to his humbling 1-9 setback versus Chao Fong-Pang in yesterday's competition, the Filipino needed a strong performance today to bounce back and ensure a semifinal berth.
In his match against Ibrahim, Corteza was at his best as he managed to come away with the better shots despite the best efforts from the Malaysian's strategy to play a defensive game.
Knotted at four racks apiece it looked as if Ibrahim brought his A-game against the Filipino streak shooter. But an unfortunate scratch off the break for Ibrahim at eighth rack sparked a three-rack run for Corteza and the 6-4 lead. This unforced error in the middle of the contest proved to be costly for the Malaysian as this allowed Corteza to play more freely and with less pressure to showcase his true pocketing potential.
With the momentum on his side, Corteza then breezed through the match as he took the final three racks to notch the win and join the final four as the lone Filipino to represent his billiard-fanatic country.
Said the Davao city native: "I'm very happy that I made it this far. As the lone Filipino to represent my country, I'm dedicating this tournament to them. I hope that my luck will continue for tomorrow's semi-final, and hopefully the final too.
"I got excited when I heard that Ibrahim beat Chao Fong-Pang, and subsequently missed a couple of shots. But I told myself to relax and let the match come to me. Instead of thinking too far ahead, I should just focus on playing one match at a time."
Filipino Dennis Orcollo failed to win another major title this year after suffered a heart-breaking loss to eventual champion Chia-ching Wu of Chinese-Taipei who nailed a come-from behind 11-9 victory in their semi-finals confrontation on Saturday afternoon in the 2007 Brunei 9-Ball Invitational Cup 2007 at the Indoor Stadium in Berakas. 