Rival foils Corteza’s World Ten Ball title bid
11/30/2009 | 09:24 PM
Finland’s Mika Immonen frustrated the spirited title bid of the Philippines’ Lee Van Corteza via an 11-6 triumph in their showdown for the 2nd World Ten Ball Championship crown Monday night at the World Trade Center.
The win, worth $60,000, cemented Immonen’s claim as the hottest cuemaster today, having snagged a string of major titles, including a successful defense of the US Open crown recently.
Immonen pounced on back-to-back errors by Corteza in the seventh and eighth racks to break out of a 3-3 standoff and seize a 5-3 lead before cleaning up the next rack for a 6-3 tear.
The Filipino ace threatened to within 6-5 but after his break in the 12th, saw his cue ball hidden behind a row of balls, having no clear shot at the one-ball. Corteza opted to push to a jump shot and Immonen went on to jump the obstructing balls, make the one-ball and knock in an easy 2-10 combo for a fresh 7-5 lead.
From there, Immonen stretched the lead to 8-5 and then won three of the next four racks to finish off Corteza.
Davao pride Corteza and Immonen arranged their titular showdown after hacking out similar 9-7 wins over David Alcaide of Spain and Antonio Lining of the Philippines, respectively, in the semifinals played earlier Monday.
Corteza moved ahead of Alcaide, 5-2, but the Spaniard kept on coming back and even wrested the lead at 7-6. Alcaide was threatening to enter the finals, but then missed an important ball in the 14th rack – the green ball No.6 on the corner — that allowed Corteza to regain his composure.
Corteza then cleaned up the table and ran out the 15th and 16th to wrap up the semis match and join Immonen in the race-to-11 championship round.
Like Corteza, Immonen got his second wind in the homestretch in nosing out Lining for the first finals seat.
Immonen squandered a 4-1 lead as Lining gained momentum halfway through their match.
Lining even got to a 7-6 edge after Immonen missed the orange ball No.6 at the side pocket.
But the next three racks were taken by the Finnish cue artist who has established a considerable following in the Philippines as early as 2003 when he beat Efren "Bata" Reyes for the Philippine Open crown. – GMANews.Tv
Finland’s Mika Immonen sets up for a shot in the finals of the 2nd World Ten Ball Championship against the Philippines’ Lee Van Corteza Monday night at the World Trade Center. GMANews.TV
The win, worth $60,000, cemented Immonen’s claim as the hottest cuemaster today, having snagged a string of major titles, including a successful defense of the US Open crown recently.
Immonen pounced on back-to-back errors by Corteza in the seventh and eighth racks to break out of a 3-3 standoff and seize a 5-3 lead before cleaning up the next rack for a 6-3 tear.
The Filipino ace threatened to within 6-5 but after his break in the 12th, saw his cue ball hidden behind a row of balls, having no clear shot at the one-ball. Corteza opted to push to a jump shot and Immonen went on to jump the obstructing balls, make the one-ball and knock in an easy 2-10 combo for a fresh 7-5 lead.
From there, Immonen stretched the lead to 8-5 and then won three of the next four racks to finish off Corteza.
Davao pride Corteza and Immonen arranged their titular showdown after hacking out similar 9-7 wins over David Alcaide of Spain and Antonio Lining of the Philippines, respectively, in the semifinals played earlier Monday.
Corteza moved ahead of Alcaide, 5-2, but the Spaniard kept on coming back and even wrested the lead at 7-6. Alcaide was threatening to enter the finals, but then missed an important ball in the 14th rack – the green ball No.6 on the corner — that allowed Corteza to regain his composure.
Corteza then cleaned up the table and ran out the 15th and 16th to wrap up the semis match and join Immonen in the race-to-11 championship round.
The Philippines’ Lee Van Corteza goes for a behind-the-back shot in his finals duel with Finland’s Mika Immonen Monday in the 2nd World Ten Ball Championship in Pasay City. GMANews.TV
Like Corteza, Immonen got his second wind in the homestretch in nosing out Lining for the first finals seat.
Immonen squandered a 4-1 lead as Lining gained momentum halfway through their match.
Lining even got to a 7-6 edge after Immonen missed the orange ball No.6 at the side pocket.
But the next three racks were taken by the Finnish cue artist who has established a considerable following in the Philippines as early as 2003 when he beat Efren "Bata" Reyes for the Philippine Open crown. – GMANews.Tv
