Tongzhou Luhe High School
Tongzhou District
Beijing
China
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28 July - 2 August 2014
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Pinoys on fire as they quash China 1, while China 2 squeaks by Japan as showdown looms in Beijing on Saturday
One team took the easy road. The other had to claw tooth and nail and barely made it through. But when they meet tomorrow in the finals of the 2014 World Pool Team Championship in Beijing, the Philippines and China 2 are sure to engage in a knockdown, drag out struggle for team supremacy in professional pool.
After six days of non-stop 8-ball, 9-ball and 10 ball, featuring 25 teams from across the globe, fans and organizers really couldn’t have asked for a better final. On the one hand you have the Philippines, arguably the finest pool playing country the world over. The Philippine team, comprised of pool heavyweights Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit, have been literally on fire this week and are playing without a care in the world.
On the other hand there’s China 2, representing the world’s most populous nation and whose government backed sports program has one goal firmly in mind; to be the best. The fact that the final will be held in the very heart of China’s capital probably puts much of the onus and pressure for victory on the shoulders of the Chinese players. But the way they won their semi-final battle against Japan today may have provided China with just the battle hardening gut check they needed to see them through on the last day.
The final, which will take place Saturday at the Tongzhou Luhe high school, will begin at 2PM Beijing time (GMT +8 ).
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Based on performances in Friday’s two semi-final matches, the Philippines will have to be considered the favorite coming into Saturday’s final. The Pinoys were coming into their semis match with China 1 today brimming with confidence after pulling out a dramatic win in their quarterfinal match the day before against Chinese-Taipei. China 1 was loaded top talent. But no matter where they looked, they were met with stiff resistance from the Pinoys. And they quickly wilted under the heat.
To get things going, Orcollo squared off with Wu Jiaqing in the 8-ball singles, in a fine pairing of two former World 8-ball Champions. With the score tied 3-3 in a short race to 6, Wu made one fatal mistake when he missed with one ball left on the table. Orcollo stood up and punished Wu from there on in, and streaked to a convincing 6-3 victory.
On the adjacent table Biado and Corteza took on Li He Wen and youngster Chu Bing Chia in 8-ball doubles. The Chinese pair never even got into the match as the Filipinos cruised to a massive 6-1 win.
Up 2-0 and needing just two more to win, the Philippines decided to press the advantage. Corteza matched up with Li He Wen in 9-ball and proceeded to crush the Chinese, winning going away, 8-3.
Amit was on the adjacent table doing battle with Women’s World 9-ball Champion Han Yu in 9-ball. This seemed to be China’s best chance to get back in the match but Amit, who has played some of the best pool of her career this week in Beijing, quickly put a stranglehold on the proceedings. Han had no answer and went down in flames as Amit won 8-3.
Overall, the performance put in by the Pinoys was simply breathtaking. Afterward, Orcollo talked about how the team discussed strategy before coming to the arena. Clearly the friendly Filipinos were in no mood to make nice on the table.
“Last night we struggled just to survive,” Orcollo said. “So we felt good out there today. We were talking about it today, how to prepare. I told the team we need to play better, play aggressive , don’t be scared, don’t show weakness, don’t give them a chance. If we have the chances, we have to go for the kill, for the finish.”
Orcollo also had praises for Amit.
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“She’s doing good. We are behind her all the way. If she makes a mistake, we are there to help her. I think having us here helps give her more confidence.”
Orcollo also had an interesting answer when asked what winning the World Team Championship would mean for himself and his teammates. Normally the Filipinos will state they want to win to bring honor to their country. Orcollo was hoping a win in the final would help revive the pro game in the Philippines, which has nearly died over the last three years, leaving players like himself and his teammates little chance of earning a living at home.
“I hope we can win this tournament so that the sport of pool can rise again in the Philippines,” Orcollo said. “As of now, our sport doesn’t have the support of any big companies in the Philippines. The Filipino people still love pool but no big companies want to sponsor any tournaments. I hope the big companies can see the great things we are doing and recognise us and bring a big tournament to the Philippines. Winning this event could be a window for us to get back to what it was like when Efren(Reyes) was world champion.”
If the Philippines semi-final win was a waltz, China 2’s win was a hard core mash up. Japan came into the match under zero pressure, while China now had the burden of having to carry the hopes and expectations of their nation.
Lee Vann Corteza(R) and Carlo Biado of Team PhilippinesChina 2, with Liu Haitao, Dang Ching Hu, Wang Can, Fu Xiaofang and Liu Shasha came sprinting out as the youngsters Dang and Wang cruised to a 6-1 win in doubles 8-ball over Naoyuki Oi and Hayato Hijikata. But Japan stayed focused and loose and the match was soon tied 1-1 as Sasaaki Tanaka grinded out a 6-5 win in 8-ball.
The fabulous Fu brought China 2 back up with a gutty come from behind 8-5 in 9-ball over Chichiro Kawahara. But Oi kept the pressure on the Chinese with an 8-4 win over Dang in 9-ball to tie the score at 2-2.
The pressure was starting to slowly build but Liu Haitao and Liu Shasha brought some relief with a strong performance in 10-ball doubles, winning 7-2. Now, the match and the tournament came down to the 10-ball singles between Wang and Hijikata, which was happening at the same time on the next table. With the Japanese up 5-3 in a race to 7, it looked like the two teams were headed for a shootout, exactly where the Chinese didn’t want to go.
The 20 year old Wang, however, proved he is older and wiser than his years as he battled back to tie the match at 5. He again tied it at six and the pair went to a thrilling one rack decider with everything-- the game, the match, the tournament-- in the balance. After a nervy safety battle, Wang got an opening and cashed in as the crowd roared its approval and the Chinese players celebrated.
Wang’s reaction afterward about his thrilling match seemed to represent just the demeanor that the Chinese will need if they are to defeat the Philippines in the final on Saturday; play with a laser like focus on the task at hand, and always remember that you are not alone.
“I wasn’t nervous,” Wang said of his match with Hijikata. “I was just focused on my job.
“In a team competition the atmosphere is different. We have to cooperate and work together to be successful. At this point both teams have come a long way so it’s really 50-50. Our coaches haven’t put any burden on us to win. They always tell us to just play our best. So that’s what we’ll so on Saturday.”
The winner of the 2014 World Pool Team Championship will take home $80,000 while the runner up will take home $40,000. The total prize fund is $300,000.
Pinoy Pride Eyes The Prize - Day 4 Report
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All photography courtesy of ©Tai Chengzhe/China Foto Press
Team Philippines wins a thriller over Chinese-Taipei to join China 1, Japan and China 2 in the all-Asian semi-finals of the 2014 World Pool Team Championship
Whenever the Philippines and Chinese-Taipei square off in pool, it’s a guarantee that the sparks are going to fly among two of pool’s giants.
But tonight in the quarterfinals of the World Pool Team Championship at the Tongzhou Luhe High School in sultry Beijing, the two squads put on a memorable show that was like a raucous New Year’s Eve fireworks display. And after enough dramatic twists and turns to last the whole year, the Philippines eked out a thrilling 4-2 victory right at the wire to advance to the semi-finals of pool’s biggest team event.
There the proud Pinoys will have to buckle down yet again, as they will face a strong China I squad, who will have the backing of not only the hundreds of fans who are expected to attend in person, but over 1.5 million people who will be tuning in on television. That semi-final will take place at 1PM (GMT +8 )
Chinese pool fans, who literally number in their tens of millions, will have even more to cheer about in the second semi-final, as the other hometown team, China II, will face Japan in a match that will begin at 6:30PM.
That the 2014 World Pool Team Championship has come down to an all-Asian final four is not much of a surprise. With each team featuring at least one woman, and the great majority of the best women players being from Asia, it was clear from the beginning that the Asian teams would have the advantage.
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The Philippines began the day on Thursday as one of the favorites to the take the crown, as they had been playing brilliantly in the group stages over the previous three days. After easily downing Indonesia in the round of 16 in the first session, the Pinoys, featuring Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit, came up against their arch rivals and the defending champions of this event, Chinese-Taipei, who brought back the same winning side from 2012--Chang Jun Lin, Ko Pin Yi, Fu Che Wei and Chou Cheih Yu. The Taiwanese were also one of the favorites but they had a much tougher opponent in the round of 16 in Austria. Taiwan, though, continued their fine play and beat the Austrians 4-2.
The Philippines versus Taiwan literally screamed “Marquee Matchup” and could have been a worthy final. Indeed, as could be expected, the proceedings were close the entire way. The two teams split the 8 ball singles and 8-ball doubles matches, then split the men’s 9-ball and women’s 9-ball. The two teams were tied at 2-2, and as the two 10 ball matches began, everyone in the arena began predicting the proceedings would be decided by a thrilling shootout.
Indeed it certainly looked to be headed that way as both matches, which were played on adjoining tables, headed for the cliff at exactly the same time with the outcome in doubt down to the final ball.
In the race to 7, 10-ball singles, Orcollo got out to a 5-2 lead over arch rival Chang Jung Lin, only to see Chang storm back to tie at 5-5. Orcollo took the next rack and Chang took the next to leave a sudden death decider. The two traded pots and several safeties before Orcollo barely pulled off the win.
On the other table, the Philippine pair of Biado and Amit also squandered a 5-2 lead and even saw the pair of Fu and Chou move to the hill first at 6-5. Amit, who has been a rock for team Philippines all week, stayed steady, as did Biado, and they tied the match at 6-6. In the final rack, Fu broke dry and Biado and Amit stepped up for a nervy clear, and a spot in the final four.
“We were lucky we didn’t lose or it didn’t go to a shootout,” a thrilled Orcollo said afterward. “I was so nervous. We want to win this for the entire Philippines. We want to make all Filipinos proud.”
The Pinoys will come into the semis and even bet when they take on the absolutely loaded China 1 with the likes of Li He Wen, Wu Jiaqing, Chu Bing Chia, Women’s World 9-ball Champion Han Yu and Chen Siming. China 1 had no trouble in the Final 16 today, handily downing an overmatched Singapore team, 4-1.
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China 1, though, had to go deep in their quarterfinal match against a very scrappy Poland. The Poles, who beat Croatia in the round of 16, are one of the class programs in the sport of pool and they played like it against China. Down 3-1, Poland had China 1 even midway through their two 10-ball matches and was looking at a possible shootout to pull off a miracle upset. But the Chinese were simply too good, winning 4-1 to claim their much deserved spot in the semi-finals.
As strong as China 1 looked, their counterparts in China 2 have looked even better. China 2, with Liu Haitao, Dang Ching Hu, Wang Can, Fu Xiaofang, Liu Shasha, were absolutely untouchable all day today, first crushing Sweden 4-0, then mercilessly manhandling Great Britain by the same score.
Afterward, former Women’s World 9-ball Champion Fu Xiao Fang talked about how she and her teammates have dealt with the pressures of playing for the world’s most populous nation.
“As you know,” Fu said through an interpreter, “as a pro player we strive to win every match. But this event is not like an individual event. We are playing for our country. There’s more pressure than an individual event. And the first day most of our team were not in the best form. Our coach helped us get through the obstacles by sitting us down together where we could share our feelings. Since then we’ve played much better. This is a team and we all share the burden so we can earn honors for our country.”
China 2 will certainly come into their semi-final against Japan as a favorite, but not that heavy a favorite, as the fun-loving Japanese seem to have a knack for survival. After taking care of the USA in the round of 16, 4-1, Japan--with veterans Naoyuki Oi, Sasaaki Tanaka, Hayato Hijikata and Chichiro Kawahara, faced a confident Germany in the quarterfinals. Germany had earlier outlasted a tough Russian squad, 4-2.
Germany, with the likes of Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann, took the lead at 3-2, only to see Japan tie with a win in the 10-ball doubles. This sent the match into the first shootout of the tournament. In the shootout, the teams traded attempts at a highly difficult, full table cut shot on the 8-ball with the first team to make 6 pots, and win by two, becoming the winner of the match. Germany held the early lead in the shootout at 3-2, but Japan came back and eventually won the shootout 7-5, to grab the last spot in the Final Four.
The Japanese wild celebrations afterward made it a fitting ending to a thrilling day of professional team pool.
The winner of the 2014 World Pool Team Championship will take home $80,000 while the runner up will take home $40,000. The total prize fund is $300,000.
THE STATISTICS
WPA WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP | ||||
BEIJING - CHINA | ||||
LAST 16 DRAW - July 31, 1PM ( GMT +8 ) | ||||
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WPA WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP | ||||
BEIJING - CHINA | ||||
THE QUARTER-FINALS | ||||
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*(Japan wins in shootout, 7-5)
WPA WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP | ||||
BEIJING - CHINA | ||||
THE SEMI-FINALS - Friday, 1pm and 6:30pm ( GMT +8 ) | ||||
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WPA WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP | ||||
BEIJING - CHINA | ||||
THE FINAL - Saturday at 2pm ( GMT +8 ) | ||||
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FORMAT: In each match between two countries, the two teams play each other in a set of six matches, all alternate break; two races in 8 ball, two in 9-ball and two in 10-ball. One 8-ball match is men’s scotch doubles, race to 6. The other 8-ball match is a men’s singles, race to 6. In 9-ball, the teams compete in a women’s singles, race to 8, and a men’s singles race to 8. In 10-ball, the teams play one mixed doubles match(scotch doubles), race to 7, and one men’s singles match race to 7. The female player must play in the 10-ball mixed doubles match, and a 9-ball match. No player is permitted to play more than two matches per session.
SHOOTOUT: If a match ends up 3-3 in the knockout stage, the winner will be decided by a shootout. In a shootout the 8 ball is placed in the middle of the table down near the short rail, level with the first diamond, while the cue ball is placed way down at the head string. The three men and one woman on each team take turns trying to pot the 8-ball in either far corner. All players play in sequence and the team to score six hits first with a margin of two or more(6-4, 7-5, etc.) wins the match and advances to the next round.
WPA WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP |
BEIJING - CHINA |
GROUP A |
| PHILIPPINES Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado, Rubilen Amit POLANDKarol Skowerski, Tomasz Kaplan, Mateusz Sniegocki, Katazyna Weslowska USA Oscar Dominguez, Hunter Lombardo, Corey Deuel, Jennifer Barretta  BULGARIA Stanimir Dimitrov, Radostin Dimov, Lyudmil Georgiev, Kristina Zlateva |
GROUP B |
| CHINA 1 Li He Wen, Wu Jiaqing, Chu Bign Chia, Han Yu, Chen Siming SWEDEN Anreas Gerven, Marcus Chamat, Tomas Larsson, Caroline Roos  HONG KONG Kwok Chi Ho, Eric Lee, Lo Ho Sum, Robbie James Capito, Lee Tricia Gar Yun CROATIA Josip Susnjara, Ivica Putnik, Marko Lisnic, Antonijevic Zrinka  MONGOLIA L. Delgerdalai, D. Damdinjamts, A. Yeruult, , A. Delgerkhuu, Z. Zoljargal |
GROUP C |
| GREAT BRITAIN Daryl Peach, Karl Boyes, Chris Melling, Allison Fisher GERMANY Thorsten Hohmann, Ralf Souquet, Sebastian Staab, Ina Kaplan AUSTRIA Albin Ouschan, Tong He Yi, Jurgen Jenisy, Thomas Knittel, Jasmin Ouschan, Sandra Baumgartner  SOUTH AFRICA Rajandran Nair, Charles R. Kuppusamy, Kumersen Reddy, Thilomi Govender |
GROUP D |
| CHINA 2 Liu Haitao, Dang Ching Hu, Wang Can, Fu Xiaofang, Liu Shasha  AUSTRALIA Robby Foldvari, David Rothall, Michael Cassiola, Lyndall Hulley VIETNAM Trung Le Quang, Tuan Nguyen Anh, Quan Do Hoang, Le Doan Thi Ngoc SINGAPORE Chan Keng Kwang, Aloyisus Yapp, Koh Seng Ann Aaron, Charlene Chai Zeet Huey, Toh Lian Han, Hoe Shu Wahr |
GROUP E |
| CHINESE TAIPEI Chang Jun Lin, Ko Pin Yi, Hsu Kai Lun, Fu Che Wei, Chou Cheih Yu  KOREA Ryu Seung Woo, Jeong Young Hwa, Ha Min Ug, Kim Ga Young RUSSIA Konstantin Stepanov, Ruslan Chinakhov, Andrey Seroshtan, Ann Mazhirina  NEW ZEALAND Matthew Edwards, Phillip Nickpera, Johnathan M. Pakieto, Molradee K. Yanan |
GROUP F |
| JAPAN Naoyuki Oi, Sasaaki Tanaka, Hayato Hijikata, Chichiro Kawahara INDONESIA Bewi Simanjuntak M. Bewi, Rudy Susanto, Muhammad Fadly, Silvana  INDIA Sumit Talwar, Sundeep Gulati, Lalrina Tenthlei, Suniti Damani  MALAYSIA Ibrahim Bin Amir, Tan Kah Thiam, Jason Ng Keat Siang, Suhana Dewi Sabtu, Klaudia Djajalie |