 Panfilo Damuag |
MANILA, PHILIPPINES---Panfilo "Abu Linkok" Damuag won the right to challenge Jeffrey "Bata" de Luna for king-of-the-table honors (Hari ng Mesa) when he bested a strong field in devastating fashion last Monday night at the Rizal Memorial Billiards Zone.
Damuag won eight straight games of 9-ball in the Group C Ring Game which included Dennis Orcullo (2007 BCA Enjoy Pool Champion), Joven Bustamante (2007 Korean
International Champion), and upcoming young players Jharome Pena and Roland Garcia.
Although he did not break even once, Damuag shut out his opponents as they kept going dry on their breaks and he ran out rack after rack.
For his feat, Damuag earned the right to challenge De Luna in Pool Showdown's Match of the Week on Saturday (October 6). The winner will be crowned as "Hari ng
Mesa" for the week and will await a challenger the following Saturday.
The 30-year-old, who was born in Norala, South Cotabato but now resides is Bacolod City, is a member of Negros Billiards, the players' group managed by Jonathan Sy and Christopher Palses. Though not a Muslim, he was dubbed "Abu Linkok" by billiards aficionados.
De Luna, first to be crowned as Hari ng Mesa, is part of Bugsy Promotions, the group managed by Perry Mariano. He got the monicker "Jeff Bata" because of
his rise as a pool player while still in his teens, much like Efren "Bata" Reyes.
Pool Showdown is a joint production of Raya Sports and ABC-5. It is broadcast every Tuesday and Saturday at 8:00 to 10-30 in the evening.
