Can Kiamco, Biado capture the Philippines’ fourth World Cup of Pool title?

Bob Guerrero

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Can Kiamco, Biado capture the Philippines’ fourth World Cup of Pool title?
A new Pinoy combination will attempt to equal the achievements of Reyes, Bustamante, Corteza, and Orcollo: to be the best doubles pairing in the world.

MANILA, Philippines – “Komportable kami sa isa’t-isa,” explains veteran Cebuano shooter Warren Kiamco about his partnership with Carlo Biado. 

(We are comfortable with each other.)

“Walang sisihan. Yun ang pinaka-importante,” he added. 

(We don’t blame each other. That’s the most important thing.) 

The tandem of Kiamco and Biado already have one title under their belt, the 2015 SEA Games 9 Ball Doubles gold medal, when they defeated Vietnam’s Do Hoang Quan and Nguyen Anh Tuan in Singapore. But the Dafabet World Cup of Pool in York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, England, will be at a whole different level.

This Filipino pairing will try to give the Philippines the World Cup trophy for the fourth time. Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante triumphed twice in this event, while two years ago Dennis Orcollo and Lee Vann Corteza downed the Netherlands duo of Niels Feijen and Nick Van Den Berg to claim the crown.

The Philippines’ 3 titles are the most of any nation in nine runnings of this 9 Ball Scotch Doubles (alternate shot) event, conceived and organized by British sports promoter Matchroom Sport. Apart from the Philippines, only China has won it more than once. The Philippines is also the only country that has captured the World Cup of Pool with two completely different pairings. They have also reached the finals in 4 of the 9 events, with Orcollo and Roberto Gomez falling at the last hurdle to China’s Li He Wen and Fu Jian Bo in 2010.

(To be fair, the host nation gets two teams, and the Philippines held the event 4 years in a row from 2009 to 2012.)

Doubles pool is a completely different animal from singles pool. There seem to be partnerships that just work exceedingly well in doubles, even though the individual players are nothing special. Li and Fu not only won this event twice in 2007 and 2010, but they also reached the semis in the years in between. Li has been a finalist in the world 9 Ball championship but has little else of note to show in his CV. Fu is even less accomplished as a singles player. But put them together, and there was magic.

Just like the pairings of Mark Woodforde with Todd Woodbridge and the Indian combination of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi racked up piles of doubles victories in tennis, some pool combinations just work. Most certainly Efren Reyes plus Francicso Bustamante also fit into that category. 

In general the rule is simple in doubles pool at the World Cup: you must have one outstanding player matched with another player who may not be as good, but is at least steady. Maltese legend Tony Drago is a very fine pool player who was stuck with the rather mortal Alex Borg for years. They have never won a single match. 

A good example would be the Finnish pairing of Mika Immonen and Petri Makkonen, winners in 2012. Immonen was already an established champ, while Makkonen played the role of grasshopper to the Iceman’s sensei. Makkonen’s confidence grew with every round and he even carried Immonen in a match after Mika struggled. They eventually overcame Poland in the final.

This Philippine team fits the bill of a talented star and a reliable sidekick. Kiamco says they qualified as the Filipino team because they were the two highest Filipinos in the World Pool-Billiard Association’s world rankings. 

Biado may have lost to Ko Pin Yi at the World 9 Ball last week in the round of 32, but he will still be feeling confident after reaching the World 10 Ball final in General Santos City last February. (Ko beat him then too, 11-9.) 

The La Union-born, Quezon City-raised Biado is a seasoned 32-year old veteran who was once a tee boy in a golf driving range. In 2011 he won the Philippine National 10 Ball championship. Biado doesn’t have the kind of textbook technique pool instructors might want, with some head movement in his delivery and a swing that could be a tad smoother, but you can’t argue with the results. Biado has terrorized his fellow pros in challenge matches for years.

Warren Kiamco's consistency makes him ideal for a teaming with Carlo Biado. Photo by Bob Guerrero/Rappler

Kiamco may be Biado’s ideal foil. The 45-year old has only snapped off a handful of big titles, but he is renowned for his consistency. In one season alone in the old San Miguel 9 Ball Tour he finished second in 3 tour stops. There is little variance in Kiamco’s play from C game to A game, and that could be an asset. Kiamco’s stroke is simple and effective. There are no funny angles or extraneous movements. 

Like Biado, he too needed the eventual champion, Ko Pin Yi, to show him the door in the World 9 Ball, via an 11-9 score in the round of 16. 

The fact that Kiamco and Biado have already won something together is a big plus. The Philippines has not always had winning teams right out of the box. The World Cup of Pool is an event that took years for Pinoy superstar Dennis Orcollo to figure out. The former World 8 Ball champ went through several partners, namely Francisco Bustamante, Ronnie Alcano, and Roberto Gomez before trying out Corteza.

This Team Mindanao flamed out in the first match in 2012 to the Swiss team of Dmitri Jungo and Ronnie Regli 8-7 in the first match. Fortunately they stuck together to win it all the very next year in England. 

The first round of the the 32-team event is now just a race-to-seven, (the races lengthen later on), and the Philippines have been given an unkind draw, being matched with a dangerous Russian side composed of veteran Konstantin Stepanov and the youthful but gifted Ruslan Chinakhov in the first round. The format is single elimination, and one run of patchy form or even a few bad rolls could send the team packing. 

Should the Philippines handle Chinakhov and Stepanov, they will likely meet England B, comprised of Mark Gray and former world 9 Ball champ Daryl Peach, in the round of 16. The English pair duke it out with Sweden in their first match. The experienced Marcus Chamat will have the relatively untested Christian Sparrenloev-Fischer by his side. 

The Philippines play Russia in the final match of the 6:30 pm session on Wednesday, September 23rd, meaning their match will likely lag in the wee hours of Thursday morning, Philippine time. Here is the link for the live stream, which costs US$7.99 for the whole tournament: http://www.pool.livesport.tv/

The final match will be played on September 27 in the UK, so early September 28 here. 

The Philippines will field a new team in hopes of bringing home the US$60,000 first prize. Kiamco and Biado will bear the weight of a nation’s expectations on their shoulders, but no doubt they reputations alone will be enough to strike fear in the hearts of their opponents.

For more info, visit the official event site here. 

http://www.matchroompool.com/world-cup-of-pool/ 

Or the official Facebook page here. 

https://www.facebook.com/worldcupofpool?fref=ts

Rappler.com 

Follow Bob on Twitter @PassionateFanPH.

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