By MARK REY MONTEJO
Former world champion Ko Ping Chung of Chinese Taipei outlasted Filipino bet Michael Feliciano, 17-13, to crown himself as king of the Sharks International 9-Ball Open on Saturday, July 29.
*Ko Ping Chung wins the Sharks International 9-Ball Open. (Sharks)*
Ko displayed his veteran poise and shrugged off the tough challenge from the unheralded local bet, pulling away in the last four racks of the race-to-17 affair to bag the title and the champion's purse of $30,000 (P1.6 million). With Feliciano gaining a 5-2 advantage early on, Ko leveled the match at five apiece before going into another deadlock at 12-all. In the 25th rack, Feliciano made a huge error with a scratch on the cue ball when he was trying to hit the No. 3 ball, with Ko taking full advantage of the blunder to nail consecutive racks despite some resistance from the Filipino finalist. Feliciano settled for a runner-up prize of $15,000 (P823,755). On his way to the finals, Ko took down local contenders in the likes of Jaycee Garcia, Israel Rota, World Cup of Pool champion James Aranas and Naoyuki Oi of Japan.
Former world champion Ko Ping Chung of Chinese Taipei outlasted Filipino bet Michael Feliciano, 17-13, to crown himself as king of the Sharks International 9-Ball Open on Saturday, July 29.
*Ko Ping Chung wins the Sharks International 9-Ball Open. (Sharks)*
Ko displayed his veteran poise and shrugged off the tough challenge from the unheralded local bet, pulling away in the last four racks of the race-to-17 affair to bag the title and the champion's purse of $30,000 (P1.6 million). With Feliciano gaining a 5-2 advantage early on, Ko leveled the match at five apiece before going into another deadlock at 12-all. In the 25th rack, Feliciano made a huge error with a scratch on the cue ball when he was trying to hit the No. 3 ball, with Ko taking full advantage of the blunder to nail consecutive racks despite some resistance from the Filipino finalist. Feliciano settled for a runner-up prize of $15,000 (P823,755). On his way to the finals, Ko took down local contenders in the likes of Jaycee Garcia, Israel Rota, World Cup of Pool champion James Aranas and Naoyuki Oi of Japan.