England’s Appleton wins Ten-Ball worlds; RP’s Pulpul places 4th

MANILA, Philippines – Demosthenes Pulpul fell short in two critical matches in the World Ten-Ball Championship. But the Cagayan de Oro native overachieved enough to get the billiards federation noticing about a possible national-team stint. Pulpul lost 11-8 to Neils Feijen of The Netherlands Sunday at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City to place fourth in the tournament presented by the World Pool Association, the highest finish by a local cue artist. His efforts have gotten the attention of the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines, which has said it would consider the 23-year-old for a possible slot on the national team that would play in the 2009 Southeast Asian Games. “He has already accumulated points to become member of the national squad," BSCP chairman Yen Makabenta said. “Just to be considered for the national team is an honor. You dream about it as a kid and now that I have a chance to go, it more than makes up for the losses I went through here," Pulpul, who earned $15,000 (P705,000) said. Darren Appleton of England won the inaugural World Ten-Ball Championship after he beat Wu Chia-Ching of Chinese Taipei 13-11. Appleton, 32, took home $100,000, while Wu, who failed to add the 10-ball crown to the 8-ball and 9-ball titles he had previously bagged, earned $40,000. Feijen, who finished third overall, settled for $25,000. Pulpul had a chance to tie the game in the 18th rack but missed a shot at the one-ball. Feijen took advantage of the miscue to clear the table and go up 10-8 and win the pivotal 19th table. Pulpul was one of seven Filipinos who made it through the knockout stages. He beat Jasmin Ouschan of Austria 9-8 in the round of 64, Kazuo Furuta of Japan 9-4 in the round of 32, Yang Ching-Shun of Chinese-Taipei 9-8 in the round of 16, and Haitao Lu of China 11-8 in the quarterfinals. But Pulpul’s bid to reach the championship round was thwarted Saturday when he lost in the semifinals to Wu 11-8. Overall, there were 13 Filipino players who participated in the 10-day tournament. Marlon Manalo and Jericho Bañares were the two other Filipinos who reached the round of 16. Feijen ousted Manalo 9-6, while another Dutchman Nick van den Berg eliminated Bañares by the same score. The RP players who lost in the round of 32 were Jeffrey de Luna, Victor Arpilleda and Leonardo Didal. De Luna lost 9-1 to Fu Chei-Wei of Chinese Taipei, Arpilleda 9-2 to Manalo and Didal 9-8 to Yang Ching-Sun of Chinese Taipei. Arnel Bautista was the first local to be shown the exit door in the knockout stages after he fell 9-4 to Daryl Peach of England in the round of 64. – GMANews.TV