China
2 captures the 2014 World Pool Team Championship with a spirited 4-2 win over
the Philippines.
With an eye on making history, and another on
wanting to please the legions of their fellow countrymen and women, the China
II team won the 2014 World Pool Team Championship today in Beijing, defeating
a less than sharp Philippine team, 4-2.
The match remained tight down to the very last 10-ball match, and if not for a
few mistakes by the never-say-die Filipinos, could have gone the other way. In
reality, however, China played better pool, was more focused, and walked out
of the Tongzhou Luhe High School arena a worthy champion.
For China, the win marks a milestone in Chinese billiard history, as it
represents its biggest ever world title in American pool.(China twice won the
scotch doubles World Cup of Pool.) 40 years ago pool was still considered a
decadent bourgeois pastime here. But since China has opened up to the outside
world, tens of millions of people from all walks of life have taken to the
game. The government, which enthusiastically backs all Olympic sports—of which
pool is one--, has promoted and financed the professional game, developed
talent and funded some of the biggest tournaments in the world. Today in
Beijing that investment paid off handsomely.
The win by the China 2 squad, which featured Liu Haitao, Dang Ching Hu, Wang
Can, Fu Xiaofang, and Liu Shasha also meant a bit of revenge for China, as the
Philippines had decimated the China 1 squad in the semi-finals on Friday, 4-0.
Because they had played so well in the semis, and indeed all week, the result
was a bitter disappointment for the Philippines. The team, comprised of greats
Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit, outlasted
defending champions Taiwan in a classic thriller in the quarterfinals. And
their semis performance against the China 1 squad was downright breathtaking.
But in the final, the Pinoys let too many mistakes creep into their game. And
the Chinese, who were remarkably focused and calm despite the pressure of
playing at home, punished them each and every time.
The
tone of the day was set right from the start with the two 8-ball matches being
played simultaneously. On the TV table Orcollo faced off with Chinese veteran
Liu Haitao. Orcollo, who is a former world 8-ball champion, was certainly the
favorite in this match, but after the Filipino grabbed the first rack, Liu won
the next two and never lost the lead the rest of the way. Orcollo committed
two errors that cost him the match, while Liu played focused, smart pool and
crossed the finish line first, winning 6-4.
At the same time on the adjoining table, Biado and Corteza took on the
youngsters of the Chinese squad, Dang and Wang, in 8-ball doubles. Again, the
Filipinos took the opening rack but it was all down hill from there as several
errors along the way proved costly. The Chinese pair won handily 6-2 and China
was up 2-0 in the match and looked well on their way to grabbing the title.
With the two 9-ball singles matches up next, the Philippines were suddenly in
a must win situation. Corteza and Dang stayed even for six frames, but then
the Chinese pounced on two glaring errors by the Filipino to move up 6-3. From
there Corteza seemed mentally flat, while Dang played fired up. Dang missed a
straight in 9-ball to win it at 7-4, but redeemed himself in the next frame
with a break and run to put China up 3-0 and one away from victory.
For the Philippines that put the load upon the small shoulders of Rubilen Amit,
who was playing 9-ball on the TV table against Fu Xiaofang. All week in
Beijing, the smallish Amit had been a total rock for the Philippine team,
coming through time and again and giving the squad that insurance all teams
require. And against Fu, Amit didn’t disappoint as she played brilliantly
again, shooting out to a 5-1 lead. Fu countered with a few racks of her own,
but Amit stayed calm and won 8-4 to keep the Philippine hopes very much alive.
With the score 3-1 and the two 10-ball matches up next, the Philippines could
only hope to make it to a shootout to decide the champion. Still, two short
races to 10-ball was extremely doable and nobody on Team Philippines had yet
to get down on themselves.
The intrigue and tension started to build in the arena as both matches were
played simultaneously and stayed tight early. A few rolls of the balls either
way meant we’d either have an outright champion, or the two teams would be
headed for a dramatic shootout to decide the world champion.
Orcollo’s
race to 7 match against the 20 year old Wang was even after six racks, but
then the Filipino stamped his class on the proceedings to go up 6-3 and move
one away from a win. Then, however, up 6-4, Orcollo missed an easy 10-ball to
win the match.
At about the same time on the other table, the pair of Liu Haitao and Liu
Shasha held a 5-3 lead over Amit and Biado in 10-ball doubles, race to 7. The
Pinoys were starting to apply heat when Amit also scratched on a very
difficult 10-ball.
Orcollo eventually went on to win 7-5, but his miss on the 10-ball 20 minutes
earlier proved pivotal. Had he made that winning 10-ball, the score of the
match would have been 3-2, and with Biado and Amit on the comeback, the
Chinese pair would’ve felt serious heat straight away instead of several
frames later.
Still, the pressure was clearly on Haitao and Shasha. They played well to push
the score to 6-3 but again, the Pinoys bounced back with two to trail 6-5. The
Chinese then executed a perfect break shot, and calmly ran the colors. Haitao
left Shasah a cut on the 10-ball, which the diminutive champion potted with
class to claim the title for the home team.
After the awarding ceremony, the veteran Liu Haitao seemed to be center of
attention of the media and for good reason. The 31 year old from Inner
Mongolia had held the team together with his rock solid form over the last six
days, especially in the semis and finals, when it counted most. Liu noted that
despite the pressure on the team to win at home, they came into today’s match
with a positive attitude that served them well all day.
“We were relaxed out there today,” Liu said through an interpreter. “We didn’t
really look at it as a final. The Philippines is always so strong so there’s
no use in worrying and before the match I told the team to just take it easy,
have fun and try not to think too much. Just enjoy ourselves.”
A
disappointed Orcollo spoke for his gutted teammates, rightly pointing out that
at this level, mistakes are always very costly.
“We weren’t that strong today,” Orcollo said. “We made too many mistakes, got
some bad rolls. The 8-ball matches were bad, and then Lee Van lost the 9-ball.
It’s hard to come back from 3-0 down. Rubilen played well, but it wasn’t
enough. That’s the sport of pool. Hopefully next time.”
For the Chinese, including players, billiard officials and fans, it was a
historic win that they will clearly cherish for a long time. Like all the
Chinese players who are always humble to a fault, Lui Haitao spoke for
everyone here about the meaning of his team’s accomplishment.
“I played about as good as I can play,” said Lui Haitao. :I’m very proud to
have played this well in such a big event like this. But more importantly I’m
very proud of the team. We all came together and did a great job. We won this
for us, and for the Chinese fans. Hopefully with this win, it will mean a
better future for pool in China.”
For the win, Team China won $80,000, while the Philippines pocketed $40,000.
The total prize fund was $300,000.