Team
Philippines wins a thriller over Chinese-Taipei to join China 1, Japan and
China 2 in the all-Asian semi-finals of the 2014 World Pool Team Championship.
Whenever the Philippines and Chinese-Taipei
square off in pool, it’s a guarantee that the sparks are going to fly amongst
two of pool’s giants. But tonight in the quarterfinals of the World Pool Team
Championship at the Tongzhou Luhe High School in sultry Beijing, the two
squads put on a memorable show that was like a raucous New Year’s Eve
fireworks display. And after enough dramatic twists and turns to last the
whole year, the Philippines eked out a thrilling 4-2 victory right at the wire
to advance to the semi-finals of pool’s biggest team event.
There the proud Pinoys will have to buckle down
yet again, as they will face a strong China I squad, who will have the backing
of not only the hundreds of fans who are expected to attend in person, but
over 1.5 million people who will be tuning in on television. That semi-final
will take place at 1PM(GMT +8).
Chinese pool fans, who literally number in
their tens of millions, will have even more to cheer about in the second
semi-final, as the other hometown team, China II, will face Japan in a match
that will begin at 6:30PM.
That the 2014 World Pool Team Championship has
come down to an all-Asian final four is not much of a surprise. With each team
featuring at least one woman, and the great majority of the best women players
being from Asia, it was clear from the beginning that the Asian teams would
have the advantage.
The Philippines began the day on Thursday as
one of the favorites to the take the crown, as they had been playing
brilliantly in the group stages over the previous three days. After easily
downing Indonesia in the round of 16 in the first session, the Pinoys,
featuring Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit, came
up against their arch rivals and the defending champions of this event,
Chinese-Taipei, who brought back the same winning side from 2012--Chang Jun
Lin, Ko Pin Yi, Fu Che Wei and Chou Cheih Yu. The Taiwanese were also one of
the favorites but they had a much tougher opponent in the round of 16 in
Austria. Taiwan, though, continued their fine play and beat the Austrians 4-2.
The Philippines versus Taiwan literally
screamed "Marquee Matchup"
and could have been a worthy final. Indeed, as could be expected, the
proceedings were close the entire way. The two teams split the 8 ball singles
and 8-ball doubles matches, then split the men’s 9-ball and women’s 9-ball.
The two teams were tied at 2-2, and as the two 10 ball matches began, everyone
in the arena began predicting the proceedings would be decided by a thrilling
shootout.
Indeed it certainly looked to be headed that
way as both matches, which were played on adjoining tables, headed for the
cliff at exactly the same time with the outcome in doubt down to the final
ball.
In the race to 7, 10-ball singles, Orcollo got
out to a 5-2 lead over arch rival Chang Jung Lin, only to see Chang storm back
to tie at 5-5. Orcollo took the next rack and Chang took the next to leave a
sudden death decider. The two traded pots and several safeties before Orcollo
barely pulled off the win.
On the other table, the Philippine pair of
Biado and Amit also squandered a 5-2 lead and even saw the pair of Fu and Chou
move to the hill first at 6-5. Amit, who has been a rock for team Philippines
all week, stayed steady, as did Biado, and they tied the match at 6-6. In the
final rack, Fu broke dry and Biado and Amit stepped up for a nervy clear, and
a spot in the final four.
"We were lucky we didn’t lose or it didn’t go
to a shootout," a thrilled Orcollo said
afterward. "I was so nervous. We want to
win this for the entire Philippines. We want to make all Filipinos proud."
The Pinoys will come into the semis an even bet
when they take on the absolutely loaded China 1 with the likes of Li He Wen,
Wu Jiaqing, Chu Bing Chia, Women’s World 9-ball Champion Han Yu and Chen
Siming. China 1 had no trouble in the Final 16 today, handily downing an
overmatched Singapore team, 4-1.
China 1, though, had to go deep in their
quarterfinal match against a very scrappy Poland. The Poles, who beat Croatia
in the round of 16, are one of the class programs in the sport of pool and
they played like it against China. Down 3-1, Poland had China 1 even midway
through their two 10-ball matches and was looking at a possible shootout to
pull off a miracle upset. But the Chinese were simply too good, winning 4-1 to
claim their much deserved spot in the semi-finals.
As strong as China 1 looked, their counterparts
in China 2 have looked even better. China 2, with Liu Haitao, Dang Ching Hu,
Wang Can, Fu Xiaofang, Liu Shasha, were absolutely untouchable all day today,
first crushing Sweden 4-0, then mercilessly manhandling Great Britain by the
same score.
Afterward, former Women’s World 9-ball Champion
Fu Xiao Fang talked about how she and her teammates have dealt with the
pressures of playing for the world’s most populous nation.
"As you know,"
Fu said through an interpreter, "as a
pro player we strive to win every match. But this event is not like an
individual event. We are playing for our country. There’s more pressure than
an individual event. And the first day most of our team were not in the best
form. Our coach helped us get through the obstacles by sitting us down
together where we could share our feelings. Since then we’ve played much
better. This is a team and we all share the burden so we can earn honors for
our country."
China 2 will certainly come into their
semi-final against Japan as a favorite, but not that heavy a favorite, as the
fun-loving Japanese seem to have a knack for survival. After taking care of
the USA in the round of 16, 4-1, Japan--with veterans Naoyuki Oi, Sasaaki
Tanaka, Hayato Hijikata and Chichiro Kawahara, faced a confident Germany in
the quarterfinals. Germany had earlier outlasted a tough Russian squad, 4-2.
Germany, with the likes of Ralf Souquet and
Thorsten Hohmann, took the lead at 3-2, only to see Japan tie with a win in
the 10-ball doubles. This sent the match into the first shootout of the
tournament. In the shootout, the teams traded attempts at a highly difficult,
full table cut shot on the 8-ball with the first team to make 6 pots, and win
by two, becoming the winner of the match. Germany held the early lead in the
shootout at 3-2, but Japan came back and eventually won the shootout 7-5, to
grab the last spot in the Final Four.
The Japanese wild celebrations afterward made
it a fitting ending to a thrilling day of professional team pool.