 Ronnie Alcano will hope to defend his title |
MANILA, Philippines -- From the PICC to the Big Dome.
The 2007 World Pool Championships will be moving over to the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City when it is held here on Nov. 3-11 with over 200 players from at least 50 countries taking part.
Heading the sure entries is reigning titlist Ronato Alcano, who won last year's edition at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City at the expense of German ace Ralf Souquet.
The 34-year-old Alcano went on to become a double world champion after he topped the WPC 8-ball championship held in the United Arab Emirates. He duplicated the feat of Hall of Famer Efren "Bata" Reyes, the 1999 WPC Cardiff ruler, and Taiwanese sensation Chia-ching Wu, the 2005 double world champ.
The 54-year-old Reyes arrived the other day after an exhibition series at the Holiday Resort and Spa Guam against the top eight players in the US territory. Reyes won seven of his eight matches.
Other Filipino cue masters in this year's WPC main draw are 2004 Taiwan WPC champion Alex Pagulayan, 2005 WPC semifinalist Marlon Manalo, Lee Vann Corteza, Dennis Orcollo, Antonio Lining, Jeffrey de Luna, Ramil Gallego and Rodolfo Luat.
Francisco "Django" Bustamante is also likely to qualify outright after topping the 2007 UPA Pro Tour last April in Normandie Casino in Los Angeles, according to tournament organizer Yen Makabenta of Raya Sports.
