Pinoys
on fire as they quash China 1, while China 2 squeaks by Japan as showdown
looms in Beijing on Saturday.
One team took the easy road. The other had to
claw tooth and nail and barely made it through. But when they meet tomorrow in
the finals of the 2014 World Pool Team Championship in Beijing, the
Philippines and China 2 are sure to engage in a knockdown, drag out struggle
for team supremacy in professional pool.
After six days of non-stop 8-ball, 9-ball and 10 ball, featuring 25 teams from
across the globe, fans and organizers really couldn’t have asked for a better
final. On the one hand you have the Philippines, arguably the finest pool
playing country the world over. The Philippine team, comprised of pool
heavyweights Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit,
have been literally on fire this week and are playing without a care in the
world.
On the other hand there's China 2, representing the world’s most populous
nation and whose government backed sports program has one goal firmly in mind;
to be the best. The fact that the final will be held in the very heart of
China’s capital probably puts much of the onus and pressure for victory on the
shoulders of the Chinese players. But the way they won their semi-final battle
against Japan today may have provided China with just the battle hardening gut
check they needed to see them through on the last day.
The final, which will take place Saturday at the Tongzhou Luhe high school,
will begin at 2PM Beijing time(GMT +8).
Based on performances in Friday's two semi-final matches, the Philippines will
have to be considered the favorite coming into Saturday's final. The Pinoys
were coming into their semis match with China 1 today brimming with confidence
after pulling out a dramatic win in their quarterfinal match the day before
against Chinese-Taipei. China 1 was loaded top talent. But no matter where
they looked, they were met with stiff resistance from the Pinoys. And they
quickly wilted under the heat.
To get things going, Orcollo squared off with Wu Jiaqing in the 8-ball
singles, in a fine pairing of two former World 8-ball Champions. With the
score tied 3-3 in a short race to 6, Wu made one fatal mistake when he missed
with one ball left on the table. Orcollo stood up and punished Wu from there
on in, and streaked to a convincing 6-3 victory.
On
the adjacent table Biado and Corteza took on Li He Wen and youngster Chu Bing
Chia in 8-ball doubles. The Chinese pair never even got into the match as the
Filipinos cruised to a massive 6-1 win.
Up 2-0 and needing just two more to win, the Philippines decided to press the
advantage. Corteza matched up with Li He Wen in 9-ball and proceeded to crush
the Chinese, winning going away, 8-3.
Amit was on the adjacent table doing battle with Women’s World 9-ball Champion
Han Yu in 9-ball. This seemed to be China’s best chance to get back in the
match but Amit, who has played some of the best pool of her career this week
in Beijing, quickly put a stranglehold on the proceedings. Han had no answer
and went down in flames as Amit won 8-3.
Overall, the performance put in by the Pinoys was simply breathtaking.
Afterward, Orcollo talked about how the team discussed strategy before coming
to the arena. Clearly the friendly Filipinos were in no mood to make nice on
the table.
"Last night we struggled just to
survive," Orcollo said.
"So we felt good out there today. We were
talking about it today, how to prepare. I told the team we need to play
better, play aggressive , don’t be scared, don’t show weakness, don’t give
them a chance. If we have the chances, we have to go for the kill, for the
finish."
Orcollo also had praises for Amit.
"She's doing good. We are behind her all the
way. If she makes a mistake, we are there to help her. I think having us here
helps give her more confidence."
Orcollo also had an interesting answer when asked what winning the World Team
Championship would mean for himself and his teammates. Normally the Filipinos
will state they want to win to bring honor to their country. Orcollo was
hoping a win in the final would help revive the pro game in the Philippines,
which has nearly died over the last three years, leaving players like himself
and his teammates little chance of earning a living at home.
"I hope we can win this tournament so
that the sport of pool can rise again in the Philippines,"
Orcollo said. "As of now, our sport
doesn’t have the support of any big companies in the Philippines. The Filipino
people still love pool but no big companies want to sponsor any tournaments. I
hope the big companies can see the great things we are doing and recognise us
and bring a big tournament to the Philippines. Winning this event could be a
window for us to get back to what it was like when Efren (Reyes) was world
champion."
If the Philippines semi-final win was a waltz, China 2's win was a hard core
mash up. Japan came into the match under zero pressure, while China now had
the burden of having to carry the hopes and expectations of their nation.
China
2, with Liu Haitao, Dang Ching Hu, Wang Can, Fu Xiaofang and Liu Shasha came
sprinting out as the youngsters Dang and Wang cruised to a 6-1 win in doubles
8-ball over Naoyuki Oi and Hayato Hijikata. But Japan stayed focused and loose
and the match was soon tied 1-1 as Sasaaki Tanaka grinded out a 6-5 win in
8-ball.
The fabulous Fu brought China 2 back up with a gutty come from behind 8-5 in
9-ball over Chichiro Kawahara. But Oi kept the pressure on the Chinese with an
8-4 win over Dang in 9-ball to tie the score at 2-2.
The pressure was starting to slowly build but Liu Haitao and Liu Shasha
brought some relief with a strong performance in 10-ball doubles, winning 7-2.
Now, the match and the tournament came down to the 10-ball singles between
Wang and Hijikata, which was happening at the same time on the next table.
With the Japanese up 5-3 in a race to 7, it looked like the two teams were
headed for a shootout, exactly where the Chinese didn’t want to go.
The 20 year old Wang, however, proved he is older and wiser than his years as
he battled back to tie the match at 5. He again tied it at six and the pair
went to a thrilling one rack decider with everything- the game, the match, the
tournament- in the balance. After a nervy safety battle, Wang got an opening
and cashed in as the crowd roared its approval and the Chinese players
celebrated.
Wang's reaction afterward about his thrilling match seemed to represent just
the demeanor that the Chinese will need if they are to defeat the Philippines
in the final on Saturday; play with a laser like focus on the task at hand,
and always remember that you are not alone.
"I wasn't nervous,"
Wang said of his match with Hijikata. "I
was just focused on my job."
"In a team competition the atmosphere is different. We have to cooperate and
work together to be successful. At this point both teams have come a long way
so it’s really 50-50. Our coaches haven’t put any burden on us to win. They
always tell us to just play our best. So that’s what we’ll so on Saturday."