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PACQUIAO-ALCANO TANDEM ENTERS ROUND OF 32 IN MP INT'L 10-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP By Eddie Alinea PhilBoxing.com Mon, 15 Dec 2014  GENERAL SANTOS CITY ? Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and former world champion partner Ronnie Alcano swept their two-game assignment Sunday to lead 31 other tandems advance to the round of 32 in the doubles event of the MP International 10-Ball Championships here. Among those who joined the Pacquiao-Alcano duo to the money play was the two-man combination of pool greats Efren ?Bata? Reyes and Francisco ?Django? Bustamante, two of an array of Filipino shot makers to become world champions. Pacquiao, showing he, too, is capable of making it big-time in this cue sport as he is in sweet science, and Alcano, the 2006 WPA men?s world 9-ball champ, combined talents in warding off the challenge put up by the tandem of Boots Augusto and Bonnie Penticase, 9-5, in their race-to-nine debut early afternoon to move into the second round meeting with the duo of Richard Alinsub and Christian Gariando. The World Boxing Organization welterweight champion, who arrived from Manila earlier in the day after standing as main sponsor of a wedding ceremony, then proved to be the main man in his partnership with the 2001 world 9-ball kingpin in a come-from-behind 9-8 drubbing of Alinsub and Gariando in the evening of the same day. Trailing, 3-6, after nine racks, the Pacquiao-Alcano partnership rattled in three straight racks to bring the matchup to where it started, 6-all, before engaging their unheralded but game rivals in a toe-to-toe battle of wits in the next sessions to finally prevail in assuring themselves of their first $300 money out of the $65,000 at stake in the two-man discipline. The prestigious internationally-laced tournament, sponsored by Pacquiao himself with Izz Caparras and Troy Danao as tournament director and assistant event director, respectively, to help raise the sport back to its rich, glory days, has a total purse $150,000, including the $85,000 put on the line in the just-concluded singles event won by the legendary Efren ?Bata? Reyes. A beautifully-executed 9-10 combination holed in by the Sarangani Congressman, who will turn 36 on Wednesday, actually marked the tandem?s come back from that three-rack deficit amidst ovation from the large crowd that came only to see their hometown boxing hero play. Then, in the deciding game, the 8-division boxing champ, again drew oohs and aahs from the gallery by holing in ball 9 with a difficult line shot between the middle and end pockets with the cue ball near the center of the table. That allowed Alcano the luxury of easily ending the two-hour contest that sent the stubborn Alinsub-Gariando teamup try their luck in the race from the losers? bracket. Reyes, now 60 and winner of the singles play last Saturday that enriched him with the top $13,000 money, and the power-breaking Bustamante weren?t actually headed on in cruising to their second consecutive wins, also in the winners? bracket in a similar 9-5 conquering of the Demosthenes Pulpul-Oliver Villafuerte duo to advance to Monday?s race for the top 16. Pulpul, the singles losing finalist, and Oliver stuck to their more illustrious opponents only until the middle games before totally folding up in the end. Others who made it to the money plays were the defending doubles champions Jeffrey de Luna-Jeffrey Ignacio team, and the foreign Mika Immonem-Rodney Morris two-man squad. Also playing in Monday?s heavy schedule are the Carlos Biado-Anthony Raga duo, the Lee Van Corteza-Jerico Banares combo, the Oliver Medenilla ?Raymond Faraon team and the Taiwanese pair of Hsu Kai Lun and Cheng yu Hsuan, among others. Also at stake Monday, besides seats in the round of 16, are slots in the top eight. The Final Four and the gold medal plays are set Tuesday, eve of Pacquiao?s 36th birthday to which the eight-day classic is dedicated. 
Pacquiao and Alcano (R) teamed up in the ongoing MP International 10-ball Championship in General Santos City. 
Pacquiao and Alcano pose with tournament director Izz Caparaz (L) and Troy Danao (R). Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.  |
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