Santos, Espiritu flex muscles at Corner Pocket

Good friends and fellow pool sharks Erick Santos and Roger Espiritu stomped their class in Corner Pocket’s 9-ball tournaments last week.

Santos got the ball rolling, so to speak, during the Monday 9-Ball Tournament held last Jan. 3 at the Garapan sports bar.

The cue artist, known for his wacky antics and rib-tickling side comments during matches, put his game where his mouth was and defeated Zheng Jian Qing, 4-2, in the first round.

Espiritu, dubbed as The Ghost, also had a rousing debut as he made it look easy against a very good player in his 5-1 win over Juancho Mendoza.

Unlike Santos, the Pacific Oriental Inc. employee is usually quiet and a complete gentleman on the green felt table.

Other opening round results saw fish-artist Manny Mariano beat Nolan Cultura (4-1), Mario Diola nip James Cabrera (4-3), Jerry Soriano survive equally talented Senen Pangilinan (4-3), Primo Rivera knock out Erick Caisip (4-1), Rommel Crisostomo overwhelm defending champion Vic S. Hocog on a handicap (4-4), and Luis Fajardo stave off a valiant stand by Leonard Sablan (4-2).

Santos and Espiritu continued their dominating play in the second round. Santos nearly skunked Rivera with his grab bag of trick shots, 4-1, while Espiritu was a picture of class and savvy in his 5-0 sweep of Manny Mariano.

Other second round scores had Soriano stop Diola dead on his tracks (5-2), and Fajardo show his potential opposite Crisostomo (4-1).

In the semifinals, Santos and Espiritu were pushed to the brink with the former needing some lucky breaks to pull off a 4-3 win over Fajardo. The latter, meanwhile, got bogged down in a defensive series with Soriano before winning in the same score.

Fortunately for the two, Santos and Espiritu regained their touch in the finals. It was an equally played championship that all boiled down to Espiritu’s handicap.

Even with the weight of winning five games as against Santos’ four, Espiritu was still in the thick of it before over preparing on the 7-ball, which handed the game and tourney to Santos in a score of 4-4.

Three days later, Espiritu finally got his way, winning his third consecutive Thursday 9-Ball Tournament.

The Ghost started out in fine form, giving newcomer Jeff Manaloc a clinic, 5-0. He then continued his sterling play, spooking Cabrera, 5-1.

In the best match of the evening, Espiritu played it smart against Hocog. He first ran the nine on the break to make it 3-3. Espiritu then forced the big Chamorro into fouling three times to advance to the finals.

In the game for all the marbles, Espiritu dug in and overwhelmed another Erick, Erick Caisip, in a score of 5-2.

Other participants of the Thursday pool event were Ken Phillips, Rolly Villanueva, Boyet Sequioco, Kim Prinz, Rivera, Zheng, and Mariano.

Corner Pocket’s Monday 9-Ball Tournament rolls off every Monday beginning at 9pm. The competition uses a handicap system to give beginners a chance against top-caliber players. Entry fee is $10 and first place and second place are guaranteed prize money.

The Thursday 9-Ball Tournament, meanwhile, is played in the fifth day of the week. Play starts at 8:30pm. Participants must fork over $15 to enter the double-elimination competition.

Both 9-ball tournaments use the rules of the Billiards Congress of America. For more information on the regular Monday 9-Ball Tournament and Thursday 9-Ball Tournament, contact Corner Pocket owner and resident pool historian Phillips at 233-POOL (7665).