Ramirez rules amateur pool

Robert Ramirez won the latest installment of amateur night at the Top Pool Bar.

The up-and-coming cue artist went undefeated and capped the evening with a win over losers’ bracket topnotcher and defending champion Jerome Repeki to take home Top Pool Bar’s 8-Ball Amateur Tournament last June 24 at the Garapan sports bar.

Ramirez started like a house on fire and defeated Chris Manglona, Arthur Miron, Dirk Camacho, and Jun Quitigua to top the winners’ bracket and capture the all-important twice-to-beat advantage in the finals.

Repeki, for his part, was a little shaky in the tournament. After winning his first game opposite Roman Torres, he was upset by Lawrence Limes and was relegated to losers’ bracket play.

But instead of sulking, Repeki played much better with his back against the wall and went on to beat Rey Awa, Hiro Kamei, Camacho, Mark Carlos, and Quitugua to complete a Phoenix-like resurrection that saw him two victories away from winning it all.

Ramirez, however, didn’t miss a beat despite the long layoff and quickly put a stop to Repeki’s miracle run. He dethroned the defending champion to win the weekly pool title.

The win was worth $50 for Ramirez, while Repeki and third place Quitugua settled for gift certificates from Top Pool Bar.

Other billiards neophytes that graced the competition were Jon Teregeyo, Joey Tudela, Leonard Pangelinan, Jay Santos, and Dean Borja.

Top Pool Bar manager Zheng Jian Qing congratulated Ramirez 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.