INQUIRER Sports

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Local pool idol Gandy Valle thwarted Carlo Biado’s fiery rally to win, 10-8, on Saturday and forge a title duel with Roberto Gomez in the First Senate President Manny Villar Cup Davao leg at the Atrium of Gaisano Mall here.

The in-form Gomez, the 2007 World Pool runner-up, bested current world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo, 10-7, in the other semifinal of the event that lured the country’s top cue artists to this city celebrating its Kadayawan Festival.

The 31-year-old Valle and Gomez will clash in the race-to-11 finals slated last night, with the winner bagging P300,000 plus trophy.

His win over Biado put Valle at the threshold of becoming the first two-leg winner of the island-hopping series presented by Villiards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports in partnership with the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP).

“I’m very happy to go this far in this very tough field,” said Valle, winner of the Cebu leg last June.

“The pressure of playing in front of my fellow Davaoeños is so big, and I’m very glad I was able to handle it. I just hope I could continue to do so in the finals,” added Valle, who trounced Joven Bustamante, 9-5, in the quarterfinals Friday night.

Valle is likely to encounter rough sailing against Gomez, who also downed former double world champion Ronnie Alcano, 9-7, in the quarterfinals of the event backed by Camella Communities and supported by Puyat Sports, Bugsy Promotions, Negros Billiards Stable and Gaisano Mall.

Starting hot, Valle took four of the first five racks. He, however, bungled a relatively easy shot on the red-3 in the sixth frame, allowing La Union’s Biado to recover.

The 24-year-old Biado, runner-up in last month’s Bulacan leg, swept the next four racks to go up, 5-4.

Both players then protected their breaks until the 17th frame, when Valle broke Biado’s break to reach the hill at 9-8.

In the 18th frame, Valle’s break produced a messy layout and the two players exchanged riveting safety shots

Eventually, Biado’s two-cushion shot narrowly missed the red-3, giving Valle a ball-in-hand that paved the way for a 3-9 combination that sealed the victory to the delight of the nearly 7,000 crowd that crammed the venue and the three upper floors encircling it.

Late Friday, Orcollo posted a thrilling 9-8 victory over pool maestro Efren “Bata” Reyes, the lone quarterfinalist who was not a member of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions of businessman Perry Mariano.

Biado, on the other hand, cruised to the Final Four at the expense of Benjie Guevarra, 9-5.