JERRY Soriano, Rowel Mariano, Ray Matsunaga and Ben Norita have secured their spots in the finals after notching victories in the qualifying tournaments at the New Bamboo Bar of Saipan Vegas.
On May 12, Jerry Soriano emerged victorious with a clean 4-0 record to qualify for the championship round.
Soriano found his rhythm early as he made short work of the competition. He took down Ray Matsunaga in round 1 and proceeded to send Roel Baretto and Jesse Guerra to the losers bracket.
In the last round, Soriano’s opponent was Cesar Sangalang who lost his first round game but managed to stay alive and fight his way back into contention.
In their match, Soriano remained consistent, sinking one ball after the other to defeat Sangalang.
Rowel Mariano was the second player to secure a spot in the championship by topping Friday’s tournament.
Mariano blazed through the preliminaries with ease but in the semifinal round, he stumbled against Rey Hermogenes.
Mariano then sought redemption and found it in his match against Senen Pangilinan.
Facing Hermogenes once again, Mariano was merciless and triumphant.
On Monday, Ray Matsunaga became the third finalist.
He was defeated by Jerry Soriano in round 3 of the qualifying tournament, but Matsunaga proceeded to notch three consecutive wins which allowed him to face Soriano, once again, and this time in the last round.
Matsunaga seized the momentum, left no openings, and handed Soriano his first loss of the night.
In the final do-or-die match, Matsunaga’s continuous pressure was too much for Soriano to handle.
Matsunaga’s victory gave him a shot at the title.
The fourth player to enter the championship round was Ben Norita who claimed his ticket to the finals on Tuesday.
Norita was having a flawless night until he lost to Jess Farinas. But Norita recovered quickly and played much better in the re-match, using precision and placement to defeat Farinas and earn a spot in the championship that will be held at the end of the month.
Jerry Soriano takes aim during an 8-ball tournament at the New Bamboo Bar of Saipan Vegas.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
