Gabica first Pinoy to reach Guinness 9-Ball Tour q'finals

MANILA, Philippines – Antonio “Gaga" Gabica became the first Filipino to reach the quarterfinals of the Singapore leg of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour 2008 winning his two group stage matches Friday at the Velocity@Novena Square. Gabica downed Singapore’s Toh Lian Han, 9-6, in Group C for his second win to clinch a berth in Last 8, organizers said Friday. The Filipino cue artist also won over Siauw Weito of Indonesia, 9-4, in his opening match. As of this posting, the Philippines’ Dennis Orcollo, world no. 6 Joven Bustamante and former World Pool champion Alex Pagulayan are still fighting to reach the next round. Orcollo edged Ricky Yang of Indonesia, 9-8, in his first match and will now face defending Grand Finals champion, Chang Jung-Lin of Chinese Taipei in Group A. Bustamante, who defeated Li He Wen of China, 9-7, in Group E was playing against Han Hao Xiang of Hong Kong at press time. Pagulayan suffered an 8-9 defeat at the hands of Nitiwat Kanjanasari but can enter the next round if he wins over Ibrahim Bin Amir in Group G. Another Pinoy campaigner, Jericho Bañares retired from the competition due to an illness following his 9-3 loss at the hands of Nguyen Anh Tuan of Vietnam. – AP