After three days of grueling competition, John Carlo Cerna of
Cerna took the crown by beating Zoren Bantayan of
Cerna dominated early in the match, racing to a lead of 6-2. But Bantayan stormed back to close the count to 7-6.
Unfazed, Cerna bore down and answered straight back with a string of three racks. From there he coasted to the finish to take the title. He was undefeated throughout the three-day tournament, which attracted participants from all over the country.
The Philippine Juniors Pool Championship is held annually by the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) among players 19 years of age and below. The winner gets to represent the country in the yearly WPA World Juniors Championships organized by the World Pool Association (WPA).
Cerna, 19, became the third junior player to capture the prestigious title. Previous winners are Aristotle Mendoza (2007 champion) and Jerico Banares (2008 champion).
Besides taking the champion’s trophy, the pride of
Victory was sweet for Cerna, who finally made it to the top after three tries. He finished runner-up to Banares last year.
In the semifinals Cerna bested Jonas Magpantay of Oriental Mindoro 9-6. Bantayan topped Jestoni Magadia of Quezon province 9-4 in the other semifinal.
In the battle for third place, Magadia beat Magpantay 9-4.
Billiards aficionados and tournament officials were one in observing the high level of play displayed by the teenage players in the competition.
