Cues Asia: August, 2006

August 17

Learning from Sports Lotteries in Hong Kong and Singapore

Learning from Sports Lotteries in Hong Kong and Singapore

In an effort to gain more insight into successful sports lotteries, the NCPFS sent personnel abroad to see how they work. Staff members were sent to visit the Home Affairs Bureau and the Hong Kong Jockey Club in Hong Kong as well as the Bocai Company in Singapore in order to gain a better understanding of the process involved including legal aspects, execution process and suggestions, surplus allocation, risk management systems, consignee systems and other various practical operational experiences. The information gathered will be used for reference purposes as well as gauging the feasibility of issuing a sports related lottery in Taiwan.

Chinese Taipei Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Newsletter

Issue 68 August 2006

Publisher：Chuan-Show Chen

August 13

Arab link

Link for Arab Billiard and Snooker Federation

http://www.afbs.org/enfp.html

August 07

Luat Tops Asian 9-Ball Tour - Kaohsiung leg

Luat Tops Asian 9-Ball Kaohsiung:

RP Sweep Possible.

August 06, 2006, Kaohsiung, Taiwan: Rodolfo Luat, the dark horse in this leg, proved once again that the Filipinos are a force to be reckoned with in the Asian 9-ball circuit after as he scored a triumphant , 11- 7,victory over local bet Hsia Hui-Kai.

The player known as "Boy Samson", who gained a finals ticket by trumping Indonesian Muhammad Zulfikri 11-8, roared to a hot start by bagging four consecutive racks early in the match to set the score in his favor at 4-1. The clean cut Hsia then managed to steal the 6 ^th rack from the Filipino to stop Luat's run. However, in the very next rack Hsia scratched of his break to set up another 3-rack run from Luat and an overwhelming edge at 7-2.

It was not until the 10^th rack that the Taiwanese favorite managed to score again off of a dry break by Luat. Hsia then was able to make the match interesting at 7-6, by clinching the next three racks Still, luck was not with the Taiwanese as Luat took the next three racks by storm to sit on the hill, 10- 6.

Even a rack run by Hsia in the 17^th rack could not slow down the Filipino as he claimed the 18^th rack to win the tournament, 11-7.

"My hands got stiff and I was getting very tired at the end that's why I missed a couple of easy shots. But because Hsia wasn't having a good game as well, I managed to pull off the win" Said a a happy Rodolfo Luat.

His win keeps the Filipino sweep of the tournament alive with Reyes bagging the Ho Chi Minh leg and Ramil "Bebeng" Gallego emerging on top in Bangkok.

Last year saw Taiwanese Yang Ching Shun claim the Kaohsiung leg and finish runner-up in two other legs. Filipinos won the other three legs: Gandy Valle (Singapore), Reyes (Jakarta) and Ronato Alcano (Manila).

This marks the second time that Kaohsiung will host a leg of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball. At this crucial third leg of 2006, the host country is represented by Chao Fong-pang, Yang Chin-shun, Wu Chai-ching, Wang Hung-hsiang, Nien Rong-chih and Hsia Hui-kai.

Competition will start at 12:00 (local time) on August 4, 13:00 on August 5 and August 6. Admission to the competition venue is free and fans of the sport are invited to witness the 9-ball drama unfold at the Kaohsiung Business Exhibition Center.

STAR Sports will air the matches LIVE on August 4 at 18.00- 22.30 for the preliminaries, 13.00-19.00 for the Quarterfinals on August 5 and 13.00-17.30 for the Semifinals and the Final match on August 6.

The Tour is the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify to the World Pool Championship. The top ten finishers in the San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour Order of Merit will automatically enter the 2006 World Pool Championship in November. Adding to the stakes will be a total tour prize money purse of $160,000 up for grabs in the four legs of the event.

The champion of each leg will earn the top prize of US$10,000 while the runner-up will settle for US$5,000. Aside from Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and Taiwan, the tour will also make a stop in Jakarta, Indonesia for its final leg.

This year promises to be more exciting as the tour will follow a new format. The main draw of 24 players will be divided into eight groups and they will compete in a single round robin format for the group stage with the top eight players advancing to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals onwards will follow a single game knockout format. There will be alternate breaks with the group stage and quarterfinals following a race to 9, while the semifinals and the finals will be a race to 11. In the semis and finals, a player must win by two clear racks up to a maximum of race to 13.

For more information on the Tour, please check out www.asian9-balltour.com . For the latest schedules and program information on ESPN STAR Sports, catch us on the net at www.espnstar.com.

The San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union and organized by ESPN STAR Sports' Event Management Group (EMG) and the Kaohsiung City Government with the assistance of the Kaohsiung City Government Information Office & Education Bureau and the Kaohsiung City Billiard Committee. San Miguel Beer is the title sponsor for the Tour. Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls respectively. Brunswick Metro is the official pool table. Han-Hsien International Hotel is the official partner hotel. STAR Sports is the official broadcaster.

August 06

Asian 9-ball Tour: Action Heats Up In Kaohsiung, as Taiwan and RP Move On To Quarters

Action Heats Up In Kaohsiung, as Taiwan and RP Move On To Quarters

August 05, 2006, Kaohsiung, Taiwan: The Philippines suffered early casualties from a very competitive Kaohsiung 9-ball leg which included Pool legend Efren "Bata" Reyes. Only two Filipinos survived the group stage to advance to the quarterfinals of the third leg of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour 2006 late Friday night here at the Kaohsiung Business Exhibition Center.

Former World Pool runner up Francisco Bustamante together with his compatriot and newcomer to the tour, Rodolfo Luat were the only Filipinos moving onto the round of eight after topping their respective groups in the elimination round.

Chinese Taipei on the other hand had more success in their campaign as it had three of its own moving on to the quarterfinals as defending Tour champion Yang Ching Shun, reigning World Pool champion Wu Chia Ching and Hsui Hui-Kai dominated their respective assignments and upstaging their Filipino foes in the process, during the group stage.

Bustamante, who beat Thai bet Amnuayporn Chotipong, 9 – 4, and Vietnamese Vu Trong Khai, 9 – 4, in Group 2, was set to face off against Yang in an electrifying quarterfinal match-up.

Yang earned the right to qualify to the next round by decimating Filipino Gandy Valle, 9-2 and a nail biting 9-8 victory over Malaysian Ibrahim Bin Amir.

Rodolfo Luat, the newest member of the Philippine San Miguel Asian 9-ball squad, conquered jet-lag and fatigue as he defeated local bet Wang Hung-Hsiang with an impressive 9-3 victory in Group 6. Although he lost, 4- 9, to Indonesian Ricky Yang, Luat still squeezed a quarterfinal berth due to the point system of the tournament as Yang failed to defeat Taiwanese Wang Hung Hsiang in their group yesterday, 6-9.

Teen Billiard prodigy, Wu topped Group 1 following victories over Chan Keng-Kwang, 9-4 and 2006 Bangkok leg champ, Ramil Gallego, 9-3.

Meanwhile, Efren Reyes' magic faltered after winning his first match over Nien Rong- Chih, 9- 5. Luck was a rare commodity for the Filipino favorite in the 2 ^nd match as he succumbed to Masaaki Tanaka, 9- 6 allowing the Japanese to rule the points system in their bracket by the tiniest of margins after Tanaka posted a similar 9-6 win against Nien Rong- Chih of Taiwan.

The quarterfinal round set up a clash between Indonesian Muhammad Zulfikri and Korean Jeong Young-Hwa. The two cue artists had the easiest time in the opening round, needing only to win one match each, as the Hong Kong based players they were set to encounter did not arrive due to a massive typhoon in their country.

Local bet, Hsia Hui-Kai topped Group 5 with victories over Vietnamese Luong Chi-Dong, 9-4, and Tepwin Arunnath, 9-2.