i TV Pinoy

Source: gmanews.tv
-- Lee Van Corteza can patiently wait in his dream to become a world champion. But he made winning the national championship a habit.

Corteza beat virtual unknown Edgie Geronimo, 11-6, to recapture the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines- Philippine National Championship recently at the Star Billiards Center.

t was the second RP diadem in three years for Corteza, who came tantalizingly close to a world title this year.

Corteza, the top-rated Filipino player in the world rankings (No. 4) after placing second behind Mika Immonen of Finland in the recent second World Ten Ball Championship at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, had to go through the final round the hard way as he was pitted against former world No.1 player Dennis Orcullo.

Geronimo, a surprise finalist, advanced into the championship round after outlasting veteran counterpart Victor Arpilleda, 9-7.

The semis duel between Corteza and Orcullo had the making of a blockbuster championship showdown. The two engaged in a see-saw encounter after 14 racks, until the Corteza, the 2007 National Open champion, took the last two racks to secure his place in the final round.

The other semis pair took the same route with Geronimo showing nerves of steel against his more experienced rival.

But the race-to-11 finals proved to be anti-climatic as Corteza didn’t let up and quickly took the rhythm out of Geronimo en route to winning the top prize of P100,000, the champion’s trophy, and the Predator cue bonus prize. Geronimo took home P50,000.

“Mahirap yung laban kay Dennis (Orcullo)," said Corteza, who will be among six players representing the country in the first-ever World Team Championship in Hannover, Germany from Jan. 30-Feb.7 “Pero noong natalo ko na siya, medyo nakahinga ako ng maluwag at naging kumpiyansa.(going into the finals)."