CESAR Sangalang and Rowel Mariano will join six other players in the championship of the New Bamboo Bar January Pool Tournament after they emerged victorious in the qualifying matches on Wednesday and Thursday at the New Bamboo Bar of Saipan Vegas.
Rowel Mariano lines up for a shot during a pool tournament at the New Bamboo Bar of Saipan Vegas.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
Sangalang proved that it is never too late to put up a fight as he had to rise back up to the top to clinch Wednesday’s qualifier spot.
Sangalang had a rough start as he was quickly sent down to the losers bracket by Rey Hermogenes in the very first round.
However, the loss only sparked the fire in Sangalang as he began to clear a path from the pits.
He started with a win over Jerry Soriano and continued to push forward with his second straight win this time over Ben Norita.
In a rematch against Hermogenes in the third round, Sangalang redeemed himself with a flawless performance — and a blowout victory.
After dispatching Rey Matsunaga in the fourth round, Sangalang returned to the winners bracket for another chance at the number-one spot.
His opponent was Rowel Mariano, who at the moment, held a perfect 3-0 record, but Sangalang made sure that his efforts were not in vain as he fought hard and eventually triumphed over Mariano.
Mariano still had one more chance as it was only his first loss of the night. However, he was unable to kill Sangalang’s momentum, and suffered his second defeat.
Sangalang thus secured a spot in the championship.
Although Mariano suffered a heart-breaking loss on Wednesday, he returned the next day and made up for his performance by finishing first.
Mariano had a good start, defeating Senen Pangilinan in round one, but he lost to Toto Bigcas in the next round.
Mariano was not to be counted out so quickly as he fought back, earning five consecutive wins to reach the finals where he faced the undefeated Jerry Soriano.
Thanks to his precision shots and smart placements, Mariano bested Soriano twice to earn a spot in the championship.
