Ronnie Alcano trounced fellow former world champion Johnny Archer, 9-5, in the finals to rule the 8-ball division of the Galveston Classic Billiards Extravaganza at the Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention Center in Galveston City, Texas. to follow up the victory of pool legend Efren “Bata” Reyes and once again establish the Filipinos domination of the sport.
The victory by Alcano took some time in coming but it was a confidence booster for the lanky Laguna hotshot whose last major international title was the World 8-Ball Championships in March 2007 shortly after he routed German ace Ralf Souquet to win the World 9-Ball Championship at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila in 2006.
The twin wins made Alcano only the third player in pool history to become a double world champion.
The title run in Texas was also the second for the star-studded Filipino contingent after Efren “Bata” Reyes won the One Pocket division earlier in the tournament.
In his six-match run to the hot seat showdown where he beat countryman Roberto Gomez who was runner-up in the 2007 World Pool Championships at the Araneta Coliseum to Darryl Peach of England, Alcano took a forfeit win in the opening round and then sent “The South Dakota Kid” Shane Van Boening to the one-loss side of that preliminary bracket 9-7. He defeated Stan Tourangeau 9-2 and then sent both Alex “The Lion” Pagalayun and Rodney “The Rocket” Morris over to the loser’s bracket, wining by identical 9-4 scores.
Alcano, a member of the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines and Senator Manny Villar’s Team Villards, jumped the gun on Archer right at the start of their titular match, quickly racing to a 3-0 lead.
The American who has played in Manila several times in the past quickly bounced back by taking four of the next five racks to even the count at 4-all.
But Alcano, was not to be denied as he cooly pocketed the next for racks to reach the hill. He then allowed Archer one more chance at the table enabling the American to claim his fifth rack before Alcano deftly ran out the 14th frame to seal the victory that also earned him $15,500.
Senator Villar, a tremendous supporter of pool and the country’s players, congratulated Alcano and Reyes for their victories.
Villar said “Ronnie and Efren once again proved that we Filipinos are really a dominant force in billiards. Their victories further inspired me to support this sport, which I’ve been saying is really suited for the Filipinos.”
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