Santos rules amateur 8-ball

Andrew Santos went undefeated to win the championship of Top Pool Bar’s 8-Ball Amateur Tournament held Friday night at the Garapan sports bar.

Santos went up against tourney surprise Lina Dela Cruz in the championship and didn’t had to use to his twice-to-beat advantage on the newcomer as he wasted no time and took the title in the very first game.

The win over Dela Cruz was Santos’ fifth straight of the evening. He started the tournament on the right foot when he overcame Gentry Williams. Santos followed that up with consecutive wins over Robert Ramirez and Simon Camacho before barging into the finals with a victory over Patrick Mendiola.

Not to be overshadowed was Dela Cruz’s feisty campaign throughout the night. Unlike Santos, the lady cue artist had an inauspicious debut when she fell against Nick Castro.

Dela Cruz, however, used the loss as fuel as she blazed her way through the losers’ bracket.

She first set her sites on Shawn Camacho and then worked her way up by defeating Ramirez, and E.J. Ermitanio in quick succession before exacting sweet revenge against Castro.

Dela Cruz got a shot against Santos after waylaying Reiner Lazaro and Mendiola but saw her comeback hopes dashed when she lost steam in the championship round.

Santos earned a cool $50 for the win, while Dela Cruz and Mendiola settled for gift certificates from Top Pool Bar.

Other novice pool players that graced the tournament were Fermin Dela Cruz, Dean Borja, Roman Torres, B.J. Simon, Phill Defang, and Carter Calma.

Top Pool Bar Zheng Jian Qing congratulated Santos and company for topping the poolfest and invited anew beginners to participate in this evening’s resumption of the amateur 8-ball event.

The 8-ball pool competition is open only to players 18 years old and above and participation is free.

Aside from the amateur 8-ball tournament, Zheng is also planning to unveil an open 9-ball competition on the weekend.

The 9-ball open tournament would most probably be held every Saturdays with 8pm starts. Zheng said the maximum number of participants would be 16 and entry fee would be $15.

He said the champion of the weekly 9-ball event could possibly have a win-fall of $120 plus a trophy, while second place and third place could bring home as much as $80 and $40, respectively.

The still unnamed 9-ball billiards competition is open only to players 18 years old and above. Zheng said he would not discriminate against any player and would welcome everyone to play in the open format.

For more information on Top Pool Bar’s 8-Ball Amateur Tournament and the planned 9-ball open competition, call 233-6999 and look for Zheng. Zheng can also be reached on his mobile phone at 287-7676.

Top Pool Bar is as spacious as it is modern. It boasts of seven 9-1/2-by-5-foot tables usually found in venues for professional tournaments abroad.