Roberto Gomez battles Taiwan ace Chang Jun-lin

Roberto Gomez

MANILA, Philippines – Roberto Gomez shares center stage with Chinese Taipei’s Chang Jun-lin when the Philippine Bigtime Billiards Face-Off Series resumes Saturday night at 9 at the Pagcor Airport Casino in Parañaque City.

Gomez, the 2007 World Pool Championship runner-up, hopes to sustain his countrymen’s winning streak in the series, which allows bettors to put wagers via e-games or inside the casino.

But for the first time in the series, the Filipino bet is the underdog with a $1 wager on Gomez winning $1.85. A $1 bet on Chang earns $0.65.

The 10-ball match is a race-to-9 duel.

Chang ranks seventh in the world, while Gomez is rated 23rd.

But Gomez remains optimistic of his chances in the series following the victories of Francisco “Django” Bustamante over Daryl Peach of Britain, and Dennis Orcollo over Yang Ching-shun of Chinese Taipei the previous weekends.

“It’s anybody’s ball game,” said Gomez who plays for businessman Perry Mariano’s Bugsy Promotions. “I may not be the favorite but Chang can’t be very sure because the game is short and it’s a winner’s-break format.”

The event, jointly organized by the Mega Sports World and BRKHRD Corp., will be aired live over Solar Sports, Sky Channel 70 and Destiny Channel 34. It is also streamed live on the Internet via at www.megasportsworld.com and www.
philippinebigtimebilliards.com.

The winner will get $5,000 while the loser pockets $2,500.

Two more matches are scheduled before the year ends with Chang going up against Carlo Biado on Dec. 23, and Wu Chia-ching of China battling Efren “Bata” Reyes on Dec. 30.