By MARK REY MONTEJO
Add the name of Michael Baoanan as one of the Filipino billiards artists to watch in the years to come.
Though his name is not so familiar to many billiards enthusiasts, the pride of Sta. Rosa, Laguna made a noise over the weekend – a good one – after ruling the 2024 Bali International 10-Ball Open in Indonesia.
And he did it in style as he denied compatriot Richard Alinsub a second straight title with an impressive 11-8 victory, a feat that enabled him to join the exclusive club of big time winners.
For his razor-sharp pocketing from the start of the 128-player tournament, Baoanan pocketed the IDR 7,000,000 (rough P250,000) grand prize.
That capped his giant killing ways as he also beat another compatriot Sean Mark Malayan in the semis, 8-7,and Indonesia’s Rico Solo, 9-7, and Ismail Kadir, 9-6, in the quarterfinals and round of 16, respectively.
He also ousted veteran Ramil Gallego, 8-3, in the Round of 32, a win the boosted his confidence even more.
Both Baoanan and Alinsub fought almost evenly before the former raced to a 9-5 lead – thanks to his fine strokes and nice safety shots.
Alinsub, the 9-Ball Bali Open titlist, tried to flip the script by coming through with some counters to pull within 10-8, but Baoanan held on to prevail.
