By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
The Philippines is ready and confident to defend its title when the 2023 Predator WPA World Teams Pool Championship unfolds on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit, who were part of last year’s championship crew, spearhead the squad that is also composed of reigning world 10-ball women’s champion Chezka Centeno and Roland Garcia.
The 10-ball event is part of the Puerto Rico Billiards Expo and stakes a total cash purse of $300,000 (around P16.8 million) with the lion’s share of $120,000 (around P6.7 million) set for the winner.
Sixteen teams are competing in the event where only three players per squad are going to take part in each round.
Each match is a best-of-5 sets, race to 4 per set. The first four sets are one mixed doubles and three singles matches. The fifth set is a shootout with all three players shooting in rotation.
Last year, the team of Biado, Amit and Johann Chua defeated Great Britain’s Kelly Fisher, Jayson Shaw and Darren Appleton for the crown held in Klagenfurt, Austria.
Fisher and Appleton are returning for the British crew along with Phil Burford and Allison Fisher with hopes of erasing the stigma of last year’s defeat.
Team PH is set to have its hands full as it clashes with Team USA (Shane Van Boening, Tyler Styer, April Larson) in the opening round on Wednesday, followed by host Puerto Rico (Alan Rolon, Alejandro Mercado, Carmen Maldonado) on Thursday, Nov. 9, and Team Spain (Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz, David Alcaide, Mayte Ropero) on Friday, Nov. 10.
Quarterfinal matches, who will be drawn from the group standings, are scheduled on Saturday, Nov. 11, followed by the semifinal and finals on Sunday, Nov. 12.
Filipino cue artists are also excited and upbeat on their chances this year.
“Representing the Philippines is one of the greatest feelings you can even imagine. A lot of Filipinos are cheering for us all over the world and it’s really the best feeling,” Biado said prior to the tournament.
Other competing teams are Germany, Poland, Austria, Portugal, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, New Zealand, Peru and Canada, which will be bannered by Fil-Canadian Alex Pagulayan.
