Immonen foils Gabica's bid for Qatar pool title

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino Antonio "Gaga" Gabica bowed to Mika "The Iceman" Immonen of Finland, 11-3, in the semifinals of the 2009 Qatar International 9-ball Pool Championship on Monday at the Qatar Billiards and Snooker Federation in Doha, Qatar. The Cebuano cuemaster was hard pressed to keep the crown at the hands of a Filipino after all of his compatriots, including 2008 winner Dennis Orcollo, either failed to advance to the knockout phase or were eliminated during the money round in the $150,000 tournament. Immonen, however, showed more grit and outclassed Gabica in the semifinals to arrange a title showdown with reigning two-time world junior champion Ko Pin-yi of Chinese-Taipei. A former world 9-ball champion himself, Immonen eventually prevailed over Ko, 13-9, to cop the title and the $40,000 champion’s purse, completing an unbeaten run in the competition. Ko was likewise awesome all throughout the world-class tournament and suffered his first and only heartbreak against the Finnish star. The Taiwanese will not be going home entirely without consolation, though, as he pocketed the runner-up purse worth $20,000. Gabica and the other losing semifinalist, 2008 World Ten Ball Champion Darren Appleton of Great Britain, received $10,000 each for landing in the final four. Aside from Gabica and Orcollo, the other Filipinos who competed in the tournament were Marlon Manalo, Jeffrey de Luna, Demosthenes Pulpul, Elvis Calasang, Raymond Faraon, Alan Cuartero, Joyme Vicente, Valerino Pajuay, Oliver Medinilla and Israel Rota. - Perry Legaspi, GMANews.TV