Biado, Roda take charge as Team PH reigns supreme in WPA Teams 10-Ball tilt
At A Glance
- Carlo Biado carried the fight while Jefrey Roda delivered the dagger as Team Philippines stormed back from a measly start and struck back at Poland, 3-2, to reign supreme in the Predator WPA Teams 10-Ball World Championship at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino Saturday, Feb. 28 (Manila time).
(Pro Billiard TV)
Carlo Biado carried the fight while Jefrey Roda delivered the dagger as Team Philippines stormed back from a measly start and struck back at Poland, 3-2, to reign supreme in the Predator WPA Teams 10-Ball World Championship at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino Saturday, Feb. 28 (Manila time).
The Biado-led crew, which suffered an opening game setback to Poland in the four-day meet, rose through adversity by digging deep to make its way to the race-to-3 finale where it clashed with the very same team.
There, the Philippines clawed back from a 0-2 deficit by taking the next three sets against the talent-laden Polish crew to close out their 4-hour, 27-minute finals showdown.
Roda, the youngest in the pack composed of world champions Biado, Chezka Centeno, and Rubilen Amit, showed precision and poise after pocketing the title-clinching ball in the nerve-wracking shootout.
That conversion from the 25-year-old Roda put the Philippines on top of the 20-team field – joined by formidable countries in the likes of the USA, Singapore, and Spain, among others – and bagged the champion’s purse of $120,000 (P6,928,860).
“When I was down in the fourth set, I’m just thinking about winning that set, because I thought the game wasn’t finished yet,” said Biado.
“I’m thankful that we’re able to pull it off and I’m happy that we won it,” he added.
Poland, starring Wojciech Szewczyk, Katarzyna Wesolowska, and Daniel Maciol, settled for a runner-up’s consolation of $60,000 (P3.4 million).
Prior to their championship victory, the Nationals bowed to Poland (2-3) in the opener, relegating them into the losers’ bracket where they bounced back over Puerto Rico (3-1) and the Netherlands (3-1).
In the losers’ qualification, they swept Chinese Taipei, 3-0, before besting Great Britain (3-1) and Team USA-A (3-1) in the quarterfinals and semis, respectively.