By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Team Philippines regained its old deadly form as it blanked host Puerto Rico, 3-0, to get back on track in its title-retention campaign in the 2023 WPA Predator World Teams Championship at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Thursday, Nov. 9.
Still nursing a stinging 3-2 loss to Team USA A day before, the Filipino cue artists wasted no time in crushing their hometown rivals to even their win-loss record in the group stage at 1-1.
Rubilen Amit set the tone for the Filipinos’ rout with a 4-1 triumph over Carmen Morales Maldonado before Carlo Biado followed suit with a similar 4-1 victory over Alan Rolon Rosado.
Roland Garcia completed the sweep of the Puerto Ricans with a 4-0 thrashing of Alejandro Mercado, further bolstering the team’s confidence as they next face the dangerous Spaniards on Friday, Nov. 10 (Saturday in Manila).
Team Spain totes identical 1-1 tally with the Filipinos after absorbing a 3-0 beating from the Americans.
The match against the Spaniards is critical, as only the Top 2 teams from each of the four groups would advance to the knockout quarterfinals slated on Saturday, Nov. 11.
So far though, the Filipinos are ahead of the Spaniards as far as tiebreak scores are concerned.
Still, the PH bets are not leaving their bid to chance as they aim to become the first back-to-back champions in this $300,000 event.
Meanwhile, Carlo Biado and Roland Garcia advanced to the Last 16 after routing their respective rivals in the Puerto Rico 10-Ball Open on the same day.
Biado, the reigning champion clipped Poland’s Mieszko Fortunski, 4-1, 4-0, while Garcia scuttle Dimitris Loukatos of Greece, 4-3, 4-2.
Biado and Garcia are battling Fedor Gorst and Norway’s Mikael Oegaard at press time for a spot in the quarters.
Joven Bustamante, meanwhile, currently competes against Aloysius Yap to advance to the Last 16.
In the distaff side, Amit edged Chinese Taipei’s Chou Chieh-Yu, 4-3, 2-4, 3-2, to book a berth in the Last 16.
Reigning world women’s 10-ball champion Chezka Centeno, for her part, kept her bid alive with a 4-2, 4-2 win over American Julie Madlener to set up a meeting with Margaret Fefilova in the second round of the losers’ qualification.
