FILE – Carlo Biado during the men’s 9-ball billiards final in the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam. SEA GAMES POOL
MANILA, Philippines–The Philippines will not bring home a gold medal in billiards for the first time in the Southeast Asian Games after the country’s remaining bets lost their respective matches on Saturday in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Carlo Biado and Johann Chua settled for bronze in men’s 9-ball doubles after a 9-7 loss to Myanmar’s Phone Myint Kyaw and Thaw Zin Htet in the semifinals at Aeon 2 Sen Sok despite erasing a pair of four-rack deficits.
Alvin Barbero fell to Thailand’s Akani Songsermsawad in the round-of-16 of men’s snooker singles to end any hopes of salvaging at least one gold in the 32nd edition of the biennial meet.
Only two bronzes were produced in billiards, the other coming from veteran Francisco dela Cruz in men’s 3-carom.
The country has won at least once since the sport was introduced in the 1987 edition held in Jakarta, Indonesia.
FILE – Johann Chua during the men’s 9-ball billiards final in the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam. SEA GAMES POOL
Cambodia opted to limit billiards to only carom and snooker with men’s 9-ball singles and doubles as the only pool event.
Biado and Chua were the country’s best chance of salvaging one gold after both were eliminated in men’s 9-ball singles while the rest of the Philippine contingent struggled in carom and snooker.
Hopes of advancing to the final loomed when the two came back from a 6-2 deficit, winning five straight racks to lead 7-6.
But Myanmar would take the final three racks, including the last two which came off a pair of miscues from the Philippine pair.
A missed shot on the eight-ball with the match tied at 7-all, allowing Myanmar to reclaim the lead. Johann Chua converted a jump shot on the four-ball on the next rack, but scratched the cue ball at the same time, virtually dealing the Filipino tandem a stinging defeat.