 Rene Mar David with members of the Australian Filipino Crowd |
SYDNEY, Australia – Rene Mar David stood out in the World Down Under on the opening day of the World Junior 9-Ball Championship with two rousing victories.
David, neophyte in international competition, hardly showed jitters in his 9-4 conquest of the fancied Jonathan Pakieto of New Zealand Monday night at the billiards hall of RSL Club in Rooty Hill here.
“Hindi ko iniintindi kung sino ang kalaban. Puro hindi ko naman sila kakilala eh ( I don't care who ever my opponent is. I don't know them anyway ,” said David after beating his fourth seeded opponent. He capped the lopsided match with a golden break, his second in the tournament.
Coming off a 9-0 blanking of local boy Coby Cranmere, David ran out the first rack and cleaned up the second to set the tone of the match.
Pakieto, who shared ninth place in the tournament two years ago, got one off David's break on the third to make it 1-2. But that was the closest he could get as David clustered three rack wins for a 5-1 lead.
Robert Huang, secretary-general of the Asian Pocket Billiards Union was impressed. “He (David) has a very solid break and accurate pocketing,” Huang noted. “He also looks very confident on the table which is rare for a newcomer.”
Supporting David's campaign are Raya Sports, Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP), Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), DOT assistant secretary Cynthia Carrion, Grand Sports, Rhadiola, MASCO head Ali Atienza, Bugsy's promotion, ACCEL, Lutong Pinoy Restaurant and Kingston Basketball Club.
The country's first representative in the world competition for 19-Under players will face Germany's Thomas Luttich in the third round today.
Luttich rallied from 0-4 hole to beat Daniel Rakin of the United States, 9-6. Rakin is a son of Filipino residing in Daly City, California.
Two-time defending champion Wu Yu-Lun of Taiwan also scored his second straight win by beating Arthei Koshovoyy of Ukraine, 9-4.
Wu beat compatriot and former world champion Wu Chia-Ching in the finals of the event two years ago.
He will meet another Ukrainian in the next round in Yevgen Novosad, a 9-2 winner over Diego Gomez of Venezuela.
