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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Unheralded Nalaunan finishes runner-up in Taipei meet

Unheralded Nalaunan finishes runner-up in Taipei meet

Published Jan 12, 2026 02:11 pm

At A Glance

  • Nalaunan yielded to hometown bet Ko Pin Yi, 11-13, but surely made a lasting impression in the three-day meet joined by several world champions including his compatriots Carlo Biado and Johann Chua.
Unheralded Ronel Nalaunan turns heads in Taiwan. (Chinese Taipei Open.
Unheralded Ronel Nalaunan turns heads in Taiwan. (Chinese Taipei Open.
Unheralded Ronel Nalaunan turned heads after finishing runner-up in the 4th Universal Chinese Taipei 9-Ball Open over the weekend.
Nalaunan yielded to hometown bet Ko Pin Yi, 11-13, but surely made a lasting impression in the three-day meet joined by several world champions including his compatriots Carlo Biado and Johann Chua.
The Aklan native sprung to a 5-2 lead and stretched it to an 8-5 advantage before the Taiwanese scored five straight racks and kept his momentum going until he secured the victory.
Though he came up short for the crown, Nalaunan had impressive wins in the early rounds where he collected the scalps of Spaniard Francisco Sanchez Ruiz (11-10), Japanese Naoyuki Oi (11-5), Ryan Hidalgo (10-6), AJ Manas (10-6), and Taiwan’s Cheng Shun Yang (10-7).
He also toppled Taiwanese Chao Fong Pang (9-2), and Jeffrey Ignacio (9-2) in the first stage on his way to a $12,000 (P711,510) purse.
“Grabe ang nangyari, ‘di tayo pinalad pero ganun talaga… ginawa ko naman ang lahat eh kaso hindi ko alam saan ako nagkulang,” said Nalaunan on his social media post.
Yi, on the other hand, pocketed the grand winner’s prize of $30,000 (around P1.7 million) and also his second straight time besting a Filipino after he previously outlasted Manas, 13-12, in this year’s CTPBA Pro Tour Grand Finals.
“Sa totoo lang, ipaghiganti ko sana si AJ [Manas] eh,” Nalaunan quipped. 
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