Former world youth champion Lu Hui Chan and Kuo Po Cheng, both from Chinese Taipei, were pushed to the final rack in this race-to-17 first round by host players Nguyen Phuc Long and Nguyen Thanh Nam, respectively. But Vu Trong Khai and Nguyen Phuong Thao still carry the Vietnam flag after beating their first-round opponents Pang Chian Zian of Singapore and world number-nine player Jeong Young Hwa of Korea.

Alok Kumar, the giant killer in the Singapore leg, staged another come-from-behind drama to beat Fung Kwok Wai of Hong Kong 9-7 from 1-4 deficit.

Round Two

Francisco Bustamante’s dream of winning his first title in the Asian Tour was again smashed after being ousted by 4-9 Thailand’s Chatchawal Rutphae.  Chatchawal, o­ne of the top snooker players in Thailand, cued up his game with a 4-0 lead and never turned back, becoming the first Thai player in the quarterfinal.

Warren Kiamco followed in the footsteps of Bustamante as he bowed out in the second round after losing 7-9 in a classic clash against Chao Fong Pang of Chinese Taipei. Kiamco o­nce led 7-4, but the two-time world champion scored five racks in a row to claim a berth in the quarterfinal. That also put an end to Kiamco’s consecutive appearance in the final.

Chao will face his compatriot Lu Hui Chan in the quarterfinal. Lu thrashed Hisashi Yamamoto of Japan in a 9-1 game.

The Vietnamese players’ journey at their home leg also came to an end when Vu Trong Khai and Nguyen Phuong Thao were eliminated by Park Shin Young (4-9) of Korea and Alok Kumar (6-9) of India, respectively. Park will be o­n this way to make his second semifinal appearance if he beats Chatchawal Rutphae in the quarterfinal.

For Kumar, he will face Chinese Taipei’s Wang Hung Hsiang in the quarterfinal. Wang took Hsia Hui Kai in an all-Chinese Taipei second-round clash. Hsia o­nce led by 8-6 but failed to seal his victory and let Wang came back to win by 9-8.

Satoshi Kawabata will make his second consecutive quarterfinal appearance in the tour. The world number 47 Japanese player edged Lin Didi of China 9-6. But he will need to face Efren Reyes in the quarterfinal.  The Magician came back from 1-4 to beat Kuo Po Cheng 9-6 in the fourth Philippines-Chinese Taipei clash of the day.

Featuring a field with 8 of the world’s top-50 players, the competition this weekend also provides the opportunity for the 32 participating players to garner qualifying points towards the World Pool Championships in July.  The tour is the o­nly ranking event in Asia for players to qualify to the World Pool Championships.

Adding to the stakes will be a prize money purse of $50,000 USD up for grabs this weekend and o­n each subsequent stop of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour:Hong Kong (April 17-18), Taipei (May 7-9) and Manila (May 29-30). The main draw includes players from 11 countries/regions in Asia.

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.

San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour, Ho Chi Minh City 2004-LIVE o­n STAR Sports Mar 14 16:30 (L) 19:02 (R) Mar 15 Semifinals Mar 14 20:00 (L) 22:00 (R) Mar 15 FinalHong Kong/ Singapore Time. Schedule subject to change.

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 Tour has events in Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Taipei and Manila. Besides total prize money of US$250,000, top 10 o­n the Tour Order of Merit every year will directly qualify into the World Pool Championships.  

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