MANILA, 10 May — American Corey Deuel nosed out Filipino ace Efren "Bata" Reyes, 3-2, in a tightly-fought best-of-five finals of the first stop of the newly-formed International Billiards Council (IBC) Tour in Nanki, Japan.
Reyes, the world pool titlist in 1999 and leader of the Philippine team that will take part in the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea, in September, actually took the upperhand against Deuel as he took the race-to-five format’s first set, 5-3.
But the 23-year-old American ace clawed back in the next two sets, 5-2 and 5-4, to seize the lead and move a set away from the IBC Nanki Classic title. But Reyes refused to roll over and die, forcing a deciding final set with a 5-2 win.
In the end, however, youth prevailed over experience as Deuel took the deciding set, 5-3, to crown himself the king of the tournament that was participated in by 64 cue artists from 16 nations.
Deuel, the top-ranked player in the Billiards Congress of America points list, took home $7,000 for this triumph while the 47-year-old Reyes, who vowed to win at least two golds for the Philippines in the Busan Asiad, settled for the $3,700 runner-up first.
Known in the pool circuit as "The Magician" for his unbelievable shots, Reyes defeated Germany’s Thorsen Hofman in the best-of-three semifinal, 3-5, 5-0, 5-2, to earn his ticket to the finals. Deuel, for his part, advanced after a 5-2, 5-2 win over South Korea’s Jeong Young Hwa.
Two other Filipino bets actually reached the quarterfinal round but Elvis Perez and Asiad-bound Warren Kiamco crashed out after losing to their respective foes.
The IBC tour’s second leg will be held in Munich, Germany on May 30-June 1.
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Torre alone at the top
Grandmaster Eugene Torre moved closer toward keeping the national chess championship by scoring his third straight win although the battle for berths to the Philippine team is expected to go down the wire.
Riding high on crest of wins against National Masters Oliver Barbosa and John Paul Gomez, Torre downed NM Elmer Sumngat in 50 moves of a Trompovsky to seize the solo lead with 10 points with one round to go.
The win secured for Torre the first of six slots to the World Chess Olympiad in Bled, Slovenia, continuing a streak of Olympic appearances that started in 1970.
But the race for the remaining five slots remains a tossup among six players with International Master Mark Paragua and NM Petronio Roca getting the inside track. Paragua and Roca drew their matches against IM Barlo Nadera and GM Joey Antonio, respectively to share second place with 9.5 points.
When the two clash in the final round today, it is likely that they will agree to a draw to avoid the complications of a tiebreak to determine the composition of the team.
The magic number is 9.5 points which Antonio, GM Bong Villamayor and IM Nelson Mariano can achieve by simply drawing their final matches.
IM Chito Garma, who has 8.5 points, can make it a four-man race for three slots with a victory over NM Oliver Barbosa today.
Of the four, Mariano seems to have the best chance of securing the second slot because his final round opponent is Sumngat.
Antonio, who faces Torre in his last game, can go all out and snatch the title away or play it safe with a draw. Villamayor, who halved the point with NM Joseph Sanchez yesterday, has a tough customer in IM Ronald Bancod who nearly ruined Mariano’s Olympic chances Saturday and held Garma to a marathon 80-move draw with black yesterday. Should Garma lose to Barbosa, the team is more or less complete regardless of the results of the other matches.
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Lina chips in P300m for RP cycling
Bert Lina, chairman of Airfreight 2100, the sole licensee of FedEx in the Philippines, has reiterated his company’s bold 300-million pesos, five-year plan to boost cycling not just through the revival of the Tour.
Lina said the highlight of the plan will be a strong finish in cycling when the country hosts the 2005 Southeast Asian Games.
"Like I said before, the plan is not merely aimed at reviving the annual tour, but injecting life into the sport itself," said Lina, himself a cycling buff.
FedEx has already gained attention with its intention to revive the racing spectacle through the FedEx Express Tour, but Lina wanted to make it clear that the general objective is to develop the sport in general.
"When we agreed to revive the Tour, it was with the notion that giving life back to everybody’s favorite cycling spectacle will run parallel with developing cyclists who can make an impact internationally like, for instance, the Tour de Langkawi or the Tour de France," Lina explained.
"The Tour is the perfect grassroots program for cycling. The event will give us the opportunity to comb the countryside and look for potential talents. That is why we are aiming to make the Tour the nest from which national cyclists will grow from," said FedEx Express Tour organizer Lito Alvarez, president of Airfreight 2100. The FedEx Express Tour kicks off with the four-day Calabarzon race, which will be held May 30, 31, June 1 and June 2.
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Penalosa faces Mexican for NABF title
World Boxing Council (WBC) International super flyweight champion Gerry Penalosa takes on hard-hitting Mexican Oscar Andrade in a North American Boxing Federation title fight on May 24 at the Feather Falls Casino some 70 miles from Sacramento, California.
Penalosa, who is rated No. 1 by the WBC, will have two tune-up fights in the US before a mandatory title shot at the world crown currently held by Japan-born North Korean Masamori Tokuyama, according to his manager, lawyer Rudy Salud.
Should he beat Andrade, well-known promoter Don Chargin told Salud in an overseas telephone conversation yesterday that he would line up another worthy opponent for Penalosa by the end of July or early August.
Penalosa and IBF super bantamweight champion Manny Pacquiao left for Los Angeles last week and are currently training under American ace Freddie Roach at his Wild Card Gym near Hollywood. Salud said that Roach has been "very impressed with Penalosa" and believes he has what it takes to be a world champion once again.
Penalosa has been sparring with Carlos Madrigal who lost in his NABF title fight with Andrade via a second round TKO.
