By JONAS TERRADO
Carlo Biado and former winner Alex Pagulayan won two matches each on Tuesday to secure berths in the Round of 16 of the World 9-Ball Championship at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha, Qatar.
Biado downed compatriot Ramil Gallego, 11-5, and South Korea’s Jeong Young Hwa, 11-4, while Pagulayan, representing Canada, beat Indonesia’s Isral Nasution, 11-8; China’s Zhou Long, 11-8, to remain as the only Filipinos left in the competition.
They hope to continue their form as they face separate rivals at presstime.
Biado was facing Taiwan’s Ko Ping Chung while Pagulayan was battling Indonesia’s Muhammad Bewi.
Warren Kiamco fell 11-7 to American Shane Van Boening, Lee Van Corteza lost 11-10 to Taiwan’s Cheng Yu Hsuan, and Roberto Gomez was defeated 11-7 by China’s Dang Jin Hu in the Round of 64.
Johann Chua suffered an 11-9 setback to Ukraine’s Artem Koshovoj, Jeffrey Ignacio was eliminated 11-7 by Austria’s Albin Ouschan and Jeffrey de Luna absorbed an 11-7 loss to Greece’s Nikos Ekonomopoulos, also in the Round of 64.
Dennis Orcollo, on the other hand, was sent home by Great Britain’s Jayson Shaw, 11-6, in the Round of 32.
No Filipino has won the event since Francisco “Django” Bustamante took home the title in 2010 as the country’s cue bets have struggled to progress in the crucial stages of the tournament.