Django the cue master will meet the 15-year-old rising star Wu Chia Ching in the semifinal. Wu was down a rack in his match with Park Shin Young, but it was the o­nly time that he was trailing. He then took six racks in a row to make it 6-1. Afterwards, pressure started to have a negative impact o­n the boy from Taipei County, and he conceded two racks in a row. However, he showed his quality in the 13th rack and made the way for his first semifinal appearance in the Tour by defeating Park 9-4.

Taipei leg runner-up Jeong Young Hwa made consecutive semifinal appearance in the Tour after beating Nguyen Thanh Nam 9-7 in the first quarterfinal. Both players were playing under pressure and made the 11, pocketing mistakes in total. But the world number-nine Korean player managed to hold his nerve and ended Nguyen’s dream of being the first Vietnamese player in the semis of the Tour.

Lee Van Corteza became the third player to beat Efren Reyes in the Asian Tour. Corteza led throughout the game, but the Magician still came back from being down 8-6 with Corteza o­n the hill, and both sides tied at 8-8. However, it was Corteza who smiled at last and booked the last berth in the semifinal by defeating Reyes 9-8. He will be meeting Jeong Young Hwa in the semis.

Earlier today, Reyes had a flawless game against Chao Fong Pang and beat the Chinese Taipei cue master 9-7 in this clash of former world champions. The Magician did not give Chao much opportunity, as he cleaned the table five times in the game. Chao also had a good game but had to bow out again after his defeat in the final of Ho Chi Minh City leg.

The Manila leg is the last chance for the 32 participating players to garner qualifying points towards the World Pool Championships in July.  After the Manila leg, the top 10 o­n the Tour Order of Merit will directly qualify into the World Pool Championships. The Tour is the o­nly ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify to the Championships.

Adding to the stakes is the total prize money purse of $250,000 USD up for grabs o­n this regional tour, which started in Singapore (February 28-29) and featured subsequent stops in Ho Chi Minh City (March 13-14), Hong Kong (April 17-18), Taipei (May 7-9) and Manila (May 28-30). The main draw includes 32 top Asian players from 12 countries/ regions.

For all information o­n the Tour, please check out www.asian9-balltour.com. For the latest schedules and program information o­n ESPN STAR Sports, catch us o­n the net at www.espnstar.com.

Sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union, the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is organized by ESPN STAR Sports’ Event Management Group (EMG). San Miguel Beer is the title sponsor for the Tour. Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls respectively. STAR Sports is the official broadcaster. The 2004 Manila leg is also supported by Puyat Sports as the local coorganiser and Robinsons Galleria as the official venue provider. The 2004 Tour has five legs in Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Taipei and Manila. Besides total prize money of $250,000 USD, the top 10 o­n the Tour Order of Merit every year will directly qualify into the World Pool Championships.

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