THREE players have already earned spots in the finals of the New Bamboo Bar February 8-Ball Tournament at Saipan Vegas.
The first to qualify was Ben Norita who bested the competition Thursday last week with a clean 4-0 record.
Norita, who has experience in his arsenal, made full use of it as he was nearly unbeatable from start to finish.
Against Cesar Sangalang, Norita’s precision was the key to victory.
Norita had a slow start, but he eventually found his groove and filled the pockets to bag the victory and advance to round 2.
Norita continued to shine in his next match, dispatching Ray Matsunaga.
Jerry Soriano proved to be a tougher opponent, but he, too, was sent to the losers bracket by Norita.
Soriano then fought back in the pits where he triumphed against Matsunaga to earn the right to a rematch against Norita.
However, Soriano’s journey was cut short as he still could not break Norita’s momentum.
On Monday, Matsunaga was able to redeem himself as he bagged the second finals spot.
Matsunaga took a hit early in round 2 and was forced to fight in the losers bracket.
Fortunately, his efforts were not in vain as he cleared the path by defeating Senen Pangilinan, Jerry Soriano and Rey Hermogenes to find himself in the winners bracket for the final round.
His opponent was Jess Farinas who had a winning streak. But against Matsunaga, Farinas lost his touch.
In their rematch Matsunaga stayed on the offensive and finished off Farinas to claim the top spot and a chance to win the championship.
Claiming the third spot in the finals was Nolan Cultura on Tuesday.
After earning three wins in a row, Cultura lost to Senen Pangilinan in the semifinals.
But Cultura fought his way back to get another chance against Pangilinan.
Cultura then triumphed twice to earn a spot in the finals.
Ben Norita lines up for a shot during the New Bamboo Bar 8-Ball Tournament at Saipan Vegas.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
