The ruthless nature of single elimination pool delivered another day of thrillers in Quezon City as the field at the Philippines Open Championship was trimmed down to its final 16 contenders.
The Gateway Mall cauldron has claimed casualties of many big-time competitors in the early stages, including Reyes Cup stars AJ Manas, Duong Quoc Hoang and, most recently, Robbie Capito.
The other two members of Team Asia, Albert Januarta and Carlo Biado, managed to dust off the rust from last week, but they will face each other for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, the Reyes Cup winners from Team Rest of the World continue to ride on the high momentum. Except for the absent Joshua Filler, the other four members in Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Shane van Boening, Fedor Gorst and Aleksa Pecelj are through to the Last 16.
Pecelj’s deep run, coupled with the early eliminations of Oliver Szolnoki, Moritz Neuhausen and Denis Grabe, officially secures the Serbian rising star his first-ever appearance at the Mosconi Cup next month.
Reigning Philippines Open champion David Alcaide can no longer qualify via ranking points, but a title defence in Quezon City could make a compelling case for a wildcard spot on Team Europe. He will face local prodigy Bernie Regalario in the last 16.
Similar to Alcaide, Jayson Shaw is eyeing the captain’s picks for the Mosconi Cup. He would love to replicate last year’s semi-final finish or better. Standing in his way is a hungry Gorst fighting for a place on Team USA’s roster.
The battle for the last two automatic spots for Team USA, joining SVB, has reached its boiling point. Thorsten Hohmann, with his last 16 qualification, has leapfrogged Tyler Styer on the leaderboard, meaning he will go to the Mosconi Cup for the first time under the American flag.
Conversely, Justin Bergman and Skylar Woodward’s dream of winning the Philippines Open and qualifying for the Mosconi Cup was shattered after both players bowed out in the last 32.
Elsewhere, Johann Chua, in his much-anticipated return to the World Nineball Tour, fended off his best friend James Aranas to reach the last 16. Badkoi is among seven Filipinos carrying the hosting nation’s hope on day three of the tournament.
Baseth Mocaibat earned a statement victory by taking down single elimination major specialist Denis Grabe, setting up a clash against world number one Aloysius Yapp
The biggest surprise of the tournament, Edwin Gamas, who knocked out Robbie Capito, will look to channel the vocal home crowd once again, as he targets another upset against the great Van Boening in the last 16.
Rounding out the last 16 schedule, two rising stars on the nineball stage from the Philippines, Anton Raga and Jefrey Roda, will be the only same-nation matchup on the third day.
With championship silverware, coveted Mosconi Cup berths and hometown pride all colliding, every rack from here on out carries massive career implications, setting the stage for an unforgettable sprint to the Philippines Open crown.
