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Source: Abac Cordero, philstar.com
-- Dang Jin Hu of China faced the biggest challenge of his pool career yesterday and came out smiling following a 9-7 victory over former world champion Ronnie Alcano of the Philippines.

“I was so excited because I knew he was the former world champion in 9-ball. I never thought I could beat him. I knew I had a very little chance,” said the 24-year-old native of Shandong province through an interpreter.

But Dang, whose best finish in an international tournament so far was top 16 in Osaka earlier this year, did it. He raced to a 4-0 lead against Alcano and turned back a desperate rally by the 2006 world 9-ball champ.

Alcano looked stunned after the match, and as he packed his things up, said he could do nothing against Dang.

“Ganyan talaga eh (That’s how it is),” said Alcano, who trailed 4-0, levelled the match at 5-5 and 7-7 before running into bad breaks in the last two games. He faces a do-or-die battle today with compatriot Demosthenes Pulpul.

Dang has never won more than $4,000 in a single tournament but following his victory over Alcano he feels more confident of getting far in this event that offers $15,000 to the losing semifinalists, $30,000 to the runner-up and $60,000 to the champion.

“Maybe,” he said smiling.

His victory was one of the two major upsets that rocked Day One of the World 10-Ball Championship at the World Trade Center in Pasay City yesterday, and at the rate it’s going there should be more surprises to come in the next five days.

Ralf Souquet of Germany, the world’s No. 1 player and top-seed in this 128-man event, also fell on opening day, losing to Thomasz Kaplan of Poland, 9-6, after blowing an early 6-2 lead against his unheralded opponent.

“It just so happened that I was in a group where anybody can beat anybody. It happens,” said Souquet who, like Alcano, is trying to become the first player in pool history to win the world 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball titles.

Pulpul, who made a lot of heads turn when he landed in the semis of the same event last year, took a 9-7 loss to American star Johnny Archer. He said he found the playing venue a little too cold for comfort he might bring a blanket for today’s match.

“Malamig. Nanibago ako (It was cold. I’m not used to it),” said Pulpul, who won $15,000 last year but is facing the possibility of going home empty-handed this time. With his earnings, he put up a small sari-sari (convenience) store for his family in Surigao.

The brightest note for the local players was Jomar de Ocampo’s marathon 9-8 victory over Chinese Taipei seed Wang Hung Hsiang. The match lasted more than two hours, just like Souquet’s.

Jeff de Luna, the highest-ranked Filipino in this event at No. 7, took an equally stunning 9-5 loss to Mehmet Cankurt of Turkey. Not even De Luna’s spiky, colorful hairdo could get his opponent off-track in scoring the upset.