Yang thwarts local bet De Luna's bid for RP Open pool crown

MANILA, Philippines – Ricky Yang Yang of Indonesia made sure he brought his perfect game right from the opening rack up to the final match of the Philippine Open Pool Championship. And this has left the Filipinos reeling in the wake of the Indonesian ace's rampage. On Sunday, Yang capped his magical run with a smashing 11-4 triumph over local bet Jeff De Luna to capture the crown and frustrate the Filipinos at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall 2. The Indonesian ace, the only player who went unscathed throughout the tournament, showed no mercy against De Luna, taking the match out of the Filipino’s reach with an 8-3 lead. Yang admitted not entertaining high hopes when the tournament - the first ranking event for the World Pool-Billiard Association this year - started. “He (Yang) really played above expectations and was surprised that he will end up unbeaten in this tournament. He was one of the underdogs considering that there are a lot of good players, including world No.1 player Ralf Souquet and World Ten Ball Champion Darren Appleton," said Yang’s interpreter Adrian Goh. For his feat, Yang pocketed the top prize of $20,000. De Luna, who went through a grueling 9-7 win over compatriot Demosthenes Pulpul in the semifinals earlier in the day, netted the $10,000 runner-up prize. Pulpul and the other losing semifinalist, Lu Hui Chan, each received $5,000. Actually, De Luna took the head start against Yang, leading twice at 1-0 and 2-1. But a five-rack run by Yang broke the game wide open and had the Indonesian ace racing ahead to 6-2. From there, it was an all Yang show. The power-breaking De Luna was mostly kept on his seat, but blamed fatigue, lack of concentration and over-excitement as factors to his finals setback to the man he has defeated several times in money games. “I was so excited entering the finals when I beat Pulpul (earlier in the semis)," said De Luna, who was responsible for slaying giants like world no. 1 Ralf Souquet and world champ Darren Appleton. “But I was so tired and barely had time to rest." - GMANews.TV