JERRY Soriano won the April 8-ball championship at Saipan Vegas’s New Bamboo Bar after emerging victorious in his duel against Jesse Farinas on Sunday.
Soriano entered the tournament hungry for the title and it showed as he cleared the first three rounds with ease. He first tasted victory against Randy Sablan then advanced to take down Nolan Cultura and Mervin Sahagun.
In the semifinal round, he went up against Jesse Farinas who also had a 3-0 record.
In the battle of the undefeated, it was Farinas who thrived as his defensive set ups, along with precision shots, highlighted the match. He eventually sent Soriano to the losers bracket and waited for his next challenger.
Despite Soriano’s falling into the pits, he redeemed himself by beating Sahagun to set up a rematch with Farinas in the final round.
Soriano battled Farinas down to the wire and won, but because it was Farinas’s first loss in the tournament, they had to face each other for the third and final time.
With Soriano’s morale boosted, he became nearly unstoppable in the rubber match, claiming the championship while Farinas settled for second place.
Soriano went home with the trophy and the $500 cash prize while Farinas received $250 cash and third placer Mervin Sahagun earned $100 cash.
Jerry Soriano, left, poses with New Bamboo Bar’s Miriam Brown during the awards ceremony for the recently concluded New Bamboo Bar April 8-Ball Tournament at Saipan Vegas.
Contributed photo
