I saw the Spin.ph article that had Jared Dillinger allegedly
moving to Ginebra.
At first, I thought it was odd… considering that Dillinger
has been an MVP lifer dating back to his days in Liga Pilipinas. Dillinger is
also the first player that TNT selected in the 2008 PBA Draft where they had
numbers two, three, and four. Four turned out to be Rob Reyes but three ended
up as Jayson Castro. The fact that TNT would want to select Dillinger first
before The Blur signals his importance.
And then the swerve.
Jared Dillinger had reportedly signed with the
Barangay Ginebra Kings as reported by Spin with interviews to Tim Cone as well
as disgruntled Meralco team manager Paolo Trillo. Apparently, Dillinger, who is
currently injured because of his quads, had a gentleman’s agreement with the
Meralco Bolts. The team just acquired Raymond Almazan from Rain or Shine for
two first round picks and they want to put Dillinger on the sidelines to make
room for Rakenrol.
In the Philippine Cup, the former Pampanga Buddy averaged 7.8ppg,
5.2rpg, and 1.2apg in five games. Last season was his lowest scoring year since
moving from TNT to Meralco.
First of all, Ginebra did nothing wrong here. Through the
years we have seen unrestricted free agents signing elsewhere. Trillo, as a
matter of fact, was part of Alaska when San Miguel dropped Samigue Eman to
unrestricted free agency and the Aces signed him up. This is also the
same scenario the other MVP teams did when they transferred Mark Tallo from TNT to
NLEX a season ago and just recently Ken Bono from Meralco to TNT. The Kings had
the opportunity and it was given to them by Meralco.
And this leads me to Meralco.
Yes, it was a gentleman’s agreement but surely a guy like
Dillinger shouldn’t be placed in that position. Why would you dangle a Gilas
Pilipinas mainstay to a sea of sharks? Ginebra is part of the SMC – and they
have the resources. If SMC was able to wrestle Jimmy Alapag from the MVP camp,
then what more to Dillinger?
And simply put, maybe the gentleman’s agreement isn’t
gentlemanly as one would perceive. Meralco wanted Dillinger on that spot but perhaps Dillinger didn't. If a guy like Dillinger is frustrated in his
current role and he deserves a better spot, then even a max deal won’t be
enough for him.
I guess the only bad thing about Dillinger’s decision is his
retirement. As of this moment, he is already 35 years old and while there are players
like Arwind Santos who can still play in the highest of levels despite their
age, the same can’t be said with Dillinger. Dillinger’s quad injury is a
recurring injury and it has bothered him for years. Despite his potential to
become a star player, Dillinger is barely a 12ppg producer.
So I guess we’re going to see The Daredevil on the other
side of the fence in case Meralco and Ginebra re-ignite their Governors’ Cup
rivalry.
So I’m currently ranked number 92 on the TOP 100 Philippines
Blog List.
Yey!
But yeah, I am not that down because through the years I have
switched platforms like some dude with identity issues.
Must I remain a sports blog?
Must I transform myself into a vlogger?
Could you tell that my skin is so sensitive to heat that my
perspiration is at the moment perspiring?
Let me stop now.
But yeah, I am starting off in the middle of Kumagcow and
Exotic Philippines and man I need to get my game up!
Right now I plan to schedule all my posts at 3pm. I don’t
know why 3pm but I usually eat lunch at around this time so I can just share my
posts on Twitter at 4pm.
I am also going to consistently blog at least once a day.
This article is going to appear on my blog two days after I wrote
it.
So yeah… cool.
Then I am going to do a lot of non-current sports things. A
lot of fantasy booking opportunities and a lot of list articles? Yes, please! I
want to finish a Top NBA Players list for some time now but procrastination, as well as other real-life matters, mess up the production.
And I guess I need to become soulless and blog about other
things I hate.
Oh, do tell.
Anyway, if you want to promote your site, you can check out FEEDSPOT.
Should basketball expand their categories and add things
like… chokes per game (CPG), shots passed up per possession (SPUPP) or here’s a
favorite – fuck ups per game because the bright lights made you a pussy (FUPGBTBLMYAP).
I know Skip Bayless is a journalist and for years I get a
lot of his bias. The dude is near his 70s and has seen his share of action. If
he scours the net and finds this blog post, I doubt if he’ll even answer this
because number one, I am a no-namer who is blogging to de-stress from work…
number two, I can't fight him on debate because I suck in public speaking… and
number three, I am just here for the views, man!
So yeah, Skip can hate Lebron James and Kawhi Leonard for
all he cares because that is his bias. He is a fan and being butt-hurt personally
is a human being quality.
Leonard could have had a moment or a couple of moments where
he lost his heart but you can’t pass this around as a journalist. I know Leonard didn't single-handedly tow the Raptors to the Promised Land because of guys like Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka, Pascal Siakam and others but the guy did work his ass off to prove to everyone that this season isn't just about his *cough* "rental" status.
That is NOT how journalism works.
In some ways, that's not even how investigative journalism works because well yeah, sitting in some desk in front of the camera just makes the on-air person an opinionated presenter.
Two things need to be in play for flawless journalism to come into fruition – you need first-hand
information from primary and secondary sources… and a shit-load of research…
with enough dose of sensationalism.
How enough is enough sensationalism?
I think it's probably when some dude accuses you of being a hater.
And then there’s media sensitivity. A
reporter’s job is to seek the truth and at the same time protecting the
subjects from whatever shit this could lead to.
For example, if Bronny James gets bullied for the things he
said to Lebron, can Skip properly live his life knowing full well that in some ways he made the situation even crazier?
Without a one-on-one interview with Kawhi Leonard or Lebron
James in their current modes, you can’t always address Kawhi as a man with no
heart and you can’t always say that Lebron is a master manipulator.
Well, okay… I guess there’s something right to say as far as
the Anthony Davis incident came and went because up to this day, we have had a
lot of people sucked into the situation and same news bites have raised a tolerable
amount of suspicion. When the tampering was first reported, we were indulged
with facts and speculation in which a couple of primary sources like James, Rob
Pelinka and Magic Johnson sharing what they got to say. Heck, even Kobe Bryant
was dragged in this snafu! But while sure, some of those facts are hazy… but it
is far better than let’s say… Toronto moves on the NBA Finals to meet Golden
State because Kawhi Leonard got lucky.
LUCKY?!?
Look, I also have a Skip Bayless in me. I always cringe at
the sight of Aljon Mariano wearing the Ginebra colors after his uneventful UAAP
Finals stints. But I am doing this as a fan – and not because of some wacky
excuse of being a journalist. I am a butthurt fan without any solid fact other
than when the game is on the line, Mariano all of a sudden became a basketball
newbie. And what sucks is… yeah, he’s playing well as a Ginebra Gin King. He
has outlasted Jeric Teng and Jeric Fortuna in the PBA and he even had all-important
clutch baskets to help Ginebra win championships. Why can’t he play like a boss
when he was at UST? Is he that afraid of Tim Cone because he is following his
orders unlike when he ambushed the play Pido Jarencio designed for Karim Abdul?
I also hate Dino Aldeguer – because he had ice on his veins
when he hit that shot in 1999. I was at my friend’s house because the Cuneta
Astrodome had too many students and alums. We ended the match either crying or
sadly gulping down alcohol. I studied in UST from 1998 to 2002 and that was my
best chance to witness a championship parade.
This leads me to Shannon Sharpe. The thing I like about how he
presents his facts is not like that of Bayless or I guess Max Kellerman at
times and even Rob Parker in a lot of situations. When he dishes out his Lebron
James bias, you KNOW he’s presenting himself as a superfan. There is nothing
wrong with that. And I guess yeah, at least Skip Bayless wasn’t
confrontational when CJ McCollum tweeted him to quit with the Kawhi Leonard
hate (although Skip had a lot of CJ comments). He answered the tweet live by saying he is a San Antonio Spurs fan and he
is deeply disappointed when Leonard bailed on the squad with a preferred
destination even if he has a year left in his contract which is why he is in
this situation in the first place.
But you can do this as a butt-hurt superfan.
You can’t be a journalist if the facts you present are
maligned.
If you feel betrayed by Kawhi Leonard, then you should also understand that Kawhi Leonard was betrayed by the Spurs. Yes, he was groomed to be the star... but was he treated as A star? I am pretty sure that the Tony Parker injury dig was the last of many hurtful things they said to Kawhi that led to his departure.
You can be a host… a broadcaster… or an on-air presenter… but
you can’t pull out the journalist card if you just want to hate on a guy. And
this is the same case as when you use your journalism card to tell the world
that Manu Ginobili has a better pro career than Dirk Nowitzki. Ginobili may
be the better player in international tournaments but in the NBA, Dirk had the
better road to glory with tangible individual accomplishments to show.
And let me just say as I re-watched the old Skip Bayless and
Stephen A. Smith versus Jalen Rose versus (kind of) Cris Carter debate on First
Take, the thing when SAS said that not everyone can be a journalist hasn’t aged
well. In fact, the current social media structure makes almost everyone with a
handheld device a local reporter. We have seen a lot of media outlets use
cellphone recordings to further accentuate a situation because of the richness
in data.
Also back then, fake news isn’t a thing.
So the cool image I used at the start of this piece came from Ben Swann's YouTube channel.
Joey Ryan is not going to be a serious heavyweight champion.
If WWE wants to make the 24/7 Championship a viable one, I
think they need to sign the Master of the Dong Style.
So Joey Ryan is a comedy wrestler. He likes to battle women
via inter-gender matches and his signature moves consist of the Boob Flex – a German
suplex with theatrics on a chick’s chest area and the Penis Flex – a move in
which he forces his opponents to touch his dick in order for him to flip them.
These two moves are the main reasons why WWE should delve
into their bank accounts to sign this guy.
As for his opponents, here are my five best answers.
ROBERT ROODE
I know the last thing Roode needs at the moment is another
comedy feud but if he’s going to keep that mustache, then why not fight a
mustache versus mustache match. As far as gimmicks go, his upper lip hair
will lead him nowhere. This is why he needs to take it off and what better way
to build something from this than having Ryan come in, mock his mustache and
see if the crowd would eat the absurd match.
LUCHA HOUSE PARTY
If WWE is going to push Ryan as a strong comedy character
like how Santino was booked in the early stages of his heel turn, then WWE
should make his finisher over with the crowd. The problem with a lot of indie
stars in the fed is that they are fan favorites with absurd win percentages.
Sami Zayn’s Blue Thunder Bomb looks better than the Helluva Kick. Roode’s spinebuster
looks far crisper than his Glorious DDT. And while people like to mess with the
midcard vortex of Baron Corbin, his Deep Six signature move as well as his End
of Days finisher are better and a lot more recognizable than most finishers in
the WWE. So what better way to push the Penis Flex to the WWE Universe than
having three flippy dudes flip at the same time while holding Joey Ryan’s Dong?
THE MIXED MATCH CHALLENGE
Johnny Gargano may be Candice LeRae’s husband but Joey Ryan
could be her ticket to the top. The Mixed Match Challenge is a tourney held in a
non-major network platform. This means there is more freedom for his antics.
Rusev and Lana, as well as Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox, are a couple of tag teams
that have exploited this avenue. Like I said, the appeal of Joey Ryan comes
from his shenanigans and he will thrive under the watchful eye of cable as well
as WWE’s online arm.
THE 24/7 GUYS
Speaking of flippy dudes, the 24/7 belt will give Joey Ryan
a lot of avenues to shine. Let’s just assume that he signed up in the current
WWE scenario. We see R-Truth running away from the rest of the roster and then
out of nowhere he falls down and as he stands up, we see a wrestling boot in
front of him. And then as the camera tilt, we get to see Joey Ryan’s name in the
trunks complete with his signature jacket, shades, and lollipop. Ryan would
then shove the lollipop to R-Truth’s mouth and then he would unleash the
devastating Penis Flex to win the 24/7 Championship. At first, the wrestlers
would attempt to ambush Ryan but seeing how they always fall to the Penis Flex
(hereby touching Ryan’s dong in the process), they just dial down on the
championship scramble. It’s a nice change of pace for the title and heck, they
could even change the design of the belt.
MIDCARD WRESTLERS
I guess here’s the most important thing about signing a guy
like Joey Ryan. Yes, he is a comedy act. But hey, he’s a comedy MIDCARD act. I
know he cannot do the Penis Flex all the time but maybe he can do sleazy
versions of other people’s taunts and finishers. Ryan can happily apply The
Accolade on Rusev where his balls touch The Bulgarian Brute’s back. He can do
Shinsuke Nakamura’s “come on” taunt with his tongue waggling like a maniac. He
can even do cringe-worthy theatrics when performing the triangle choke. Fans
hate the idea of having the likes of Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Cesaro, Shinsuke
Nakamura, and other indie darlings in the realm of midcard hell but it would be
difficult for them to thrive all at once. Ryan is a midcard wunderkind and he’ll
gladly eat the pins of the aforementioned guys when given the chance.
But I feel like I’m cheating you for batching up the entire
midcard scene.
So let’s have at least two examples.
MATT HARDY
One counter to Woken Matt Hardy’s insane persona is another
insane persona. I mean… what if Joey Ryan does his Penis Flex to Senor
Benjamin? Or worse… King Maxel? This feud could resemble an Austin Powers
versus Dr. Evil feud. People will not watch this because of the great wrestling
action but it would be a sports entertainment spectacle.
NIA JAX
When Nia Jax returns from injury and she’s still a danger to
a lot of women wrestlers, maybe a feud with Joey Ryan could do the trick. Nia
could harass Candice LeRae and then have Ryan… do his shit. Ryan is not going
to serve as savior but rather some dude that digs these types of predicament.
Anyway, the reason why guys like Adam Rose, No Way Jose, and
other comedy acts fail is because they are not invested with the opportunity. Joey
Ryan can do this with gusto. And it’s not like he’s bound to the midcard scene
because when he hits the right buttons, he could become the next big comedy act
a la New Day. I mean, whoever though Kofi Kingston would end up as champion by
riding a comedy act?
But this is if given his age… and the possibility of going
to WWE and not to All Elite Wrestling (AEW)… could turn into reality.
This
is the first edition of the Import Rankings and I am doing this despite the
fact that four teams have yet to debut their selves in the 2019 PBA
Commissioner’s Cup race.
As
it stands, Blackwater leads the pack with three wins, followed by Northport and
TNT with two wins, and Ginebra splitting its first two games.
When
money talks, former NBA players listen. In the case of money, this means MVP
and as for NBA players… here comes Terrence Jones. The former Houston Rocket
came into the fray with a mission – posting monster numbers in his first two
games as a KaTropa.
2 | ALEX STEPHESON | BLACKWATER
IMPORT W/L RECORD: THREE WINS
AND ZERO LOSSES
COMCUP STATS: 25.0PPG |
25.7RPG | 2.7APG | 2.7BPG
I
guess Terrence Jones is above this guy at this point. And we tend to forget
about his accomplishments because the debut conference of Bobby Ray Parks is
just phenomenal. But let’s not take away anything from Alex Stepheson.
Blackwater is playing like elites with him as their import and I think he’s
pulling the punches to give way to his teammates but he is just what the doctor
ordered for this erstwhile struggling franchise.
Perhaps
the most celebrated import in Ginebra history, already eclipsing the accomplishments
of Billy Ray Bates, Joe Ward, and Michael Hackett, Brownlee opened the Kings’
Commissioner’s Cup campaign with a defeat against Blackwater but made amends
with their come-from-behind win over the Meralco Bolts. I guess the only other
thing worth noting about this hired gun is whether he’ll finish the year as a
naturalized Filipino.
It’s
hard to judge on whether or not Prince Ibeh can be Northport’s import for the
entire duration of the conference. The fact of the matter is his numbers are far
from exceptional. Heck, how can Northport survive the other teams if their
import hits roughly 13 percent of his free throws! With that said, the Batang
Pier is 2-0 despite the DNP of Stanley Pringle. I mean… eventually, they’ll
probably revert back to their norms but at the moment… hopefully, they can
sustain whatever they are doing at the moment.
5 | GANI LAWAL | MERALCO
IMPORT W/L RECORD: ONE WIN
AND TWO LOSSES
COMCUP STATS: 32.3PPG |
22.7RPG | 1.0APG | 1.3SPG
A
typical Meralco season has the team sucking in the Philippine Cup and then go
insane in the Commissioner’s Cup because they have the best imports (I will
exclude the Governors’ Cup because they lock the confy for the reliable Allen
Durham). Gani Lawal is no slouch although the former Phoenix Sun could be a couple of losses away from losing his job especially when the rest of the teams
start their Commish Cup campaigns.
Alaska’s
Chris Daniels and NLEX’s Curtis Washington round out the cast. Like Meralco,
these squads are currently struggling but perhaps they will have enough
strength to wheel their teams out of utter hell. The same can’t be said with
Columbian Dyip’s Kyle Barone though. He is not a bad import. In fact, his
numbers are okay. With that said, it feels as if he’s not the right import for
Columbian which is why he needs to have his pink slip after three unsuccessful
win attempts.
His spunk reminds me of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Golden State SWEPT Portland, right?
In the course of the fight hype, Thurman has been telling
everyone how it is awesome that he could punch a senator in the face. In some
ways, I like this because the digs generate views and it gives this young
versus old shtick a different dimension.
Because like, come on. As a senator, Manny Pacquiao has had
times when he veered away from public opinion. I do not want to count the times
because I resist the urge of going political but let us just say that the
People’s Champion in boxing is not as champion-ish when party lines are drawn.
Again, not going political but I have seen a lot of
commentary on how people would rather listen to trash talkers than naggers.
I should stop now.
Must… not… go… to… that… part… of… blogging!
But while Thurman’s tirade is kind of cute in the sense that
we have seen countless boxers prey on Pacquiao’s activity only to find out he’s
going to various broadcasts to answer questions surrounding Pacquiao versus
Mayweather 2, I guess it’s cool to punch a lawmaker in the face.
I have seen Arnold Schwarzenegger barely feel a flying kick
for a South African man and I have seen Kane getting his ass handed to him by
the likes of Shawn Michaels and Triple H even if he’s the Knox County mayor.
Maybe this could be a thing!
The obvious repercussions though would be the wrath of a
private army.
So I went to Robinson’s Galleria to hunt down rookie cards.
The thing is though, I know expensive these cards are.
So this allowed me to draw up a collection based
primarily on base cards and players that didn’t perform to their potential.
Busts.
Now I hate calling Darko Milicic a bust… but I guess when he
went to the Orlando Magic that should have been the opportunity his career needed.
Detroit was back then a team that will never take their time to train newbies
(although they did just that with Tayshaun Prince). He had a triple-double playing
for the Minnesota Timberwolves but yeah, I guess we are better off forgetting about
his NBA existence.
Derrick Williams though is a generic talent that will be
known as they picked ahead of Klay Thompson, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler and
Kawhi F’N Leonard. He is only 28 and he is already out of the league playing in
Bayern Munich. When the NBA lockout happened, Williams went to the Philippines
to play an exhibition match alongside Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose,
James Harden, and Kobe Bryant.
Come to think of it. I guess that could be his NBA All-Star
Game.
There was a time when people thought Williams is a better
top pick than eventual top pick Kyrie Irving.
Ugh.
Anyway, I also grabbed a bunch of base rookie cards led by
Malcolm Brogdon, Dario Saric, Caris LeVert, Dennis Scott and Danny Granger. I think this is
the first time I have ever bought a Danny Granger rookie card. I once thought
of Granger as a superstar back in the 2010s. He is no Reggie Miller but he
played the part as the Indiana Pacers’ torch bearer. Sadly, injuries forced his
play to subside – and this enabled Paul George to rise from the ranks.
The two names I desperately want to retrieve are Jan Vesely
and Nikoloz Tskitishvili.
For the first time in NBA history, the NBA Finals will be
played outside of the United States as the Toronto Raptors defeated the
Milwaukee Bucks to win the Eastern Conference Championship.
This win is also noteworthy because they started the season
without the reigning and defending Coach of the Year Dwane Casey and superstar DeMar
DeRozan. It also didn’t help that Kawhi Leonard is perceived by many as a
rental and it feels as if the incoming season would spark the team’s rebuilding
phase.
But no.
They won over the Bucks and have the homecourt advantage
over the Golden State Warriors.
Now apart from Leonard, they also got Danny Green from the
said deal and in the middle of the season traded Jonas Valanciunas for Memphis
Grizzlies legend Marc Gasol and former New York flash in a pan Jeremy Lin (although most of the blame should fall with the Knicks for letting his momentum slide).
So yeah, we got ourselves a dogfight.
The Warriors are unquestionably the team to beat here. Steph
Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have stepped up their games with the
absence of Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins and if they swept the Portland
Trail Blazers sans these two, what hell would they unleash if the trio becomes
a five-headed monster. Nick Nurse has yet to lose a playoff series as head
coach but he is going to face Steve Kerr – perhaps the only person in the NBA
past or present to win three titles as a coach and three titles as a player (he
had five titles as a player).
The combo of Lowry and DeRozan as well as the inability of
Casey to step up in the playoffs could be a couple of reasons why their playoff
hopes go dead in the tracks. But then again… something else got in the way.
Or someone.
So I still can’t comprehend as to why LeBron James had to
move to the West and in the process, see his NBA Finals streak stop at eight.
As part of the Cleveland Cavaliers, LBJ looked as if he’s the gatekeeper of
Toronto’s NBA odyssey. Toronto compiled a 2-win and 12-loss playoff situation
in the three years they faced the Cavs in the NBA Playoffs. In those three
seasons, Cleveland swept the Raptors in two. There is even a Game of Zones
episode where the Raptors “choked” at the hands of LeBron James posing as
Drake.
I guess what I am trying to say here is that while the
Raptors are the underdogs, they could pose like a viable threat more than what we
are thinking. Sure, Lowry could stink up Game One like his other previous Game
One battles but perhaps the NBA Finals could give his psyche a mental boost.
The same can be said with the rest of the team – Lin and Gasol are great
additions to a cast that also had the likes of Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka and
the new and improved version of Pascal Siakam.
So I guess Toronto should thank LeBron for messing up his
playoff hopes elsewhere… and I guess Golden State should thank James as well…
for giving the team a new NBA Finals victim.
Ginebra celebrated the return of Justin Brownlee with a loss
to Blackwater. But while yeah, that sucks… it’s not like Ginebra is expected to
suck this conference.
As a matter of fact, I expect the Gin Kings to destroy their competition.
But yeah, check out their new kits.
Here’s the thing – I HATE Ginebra’s last two uniforms. I
thought the jersey they had when Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand, and Eric Menk
ruled the Kings was cool and the Ginebra Na jersey of the 90s was even cooler.
I know the second to the last Ginebra San Miguel jersey was a nod to the past
but I thought it was too basic and too clean from what the 80s version had. And
then the last jersey had the odd baseball stripes and overall I thought the
design was an ugly mesh.
This new uniform though.
Prior to this, I thought the black Phoenix Pulse jersey
looked awesome. The thing I like about the Ginebra jersey is that it looked
TV-friendly. The number font is old school macho and it did help that the
numbers had the black stroke. I also think it resembled the old Ginebra jerseys
but this was done right. This is like how the current incarnation of the
Magnolia Hotshots jersey is similar to the old Purefoods TJ Hotdogs jersey (the
one with a car that has a face).
Anyway, I guess San Miguel could use a jersey change. While
the unis had become iconic, it’s hard to see the numbers of the jerseys if they
use the press camera angles.
If you want to check out numbers 6 to 10, CLICK HERE.
With that said, here are the next five names of this list.
5 | MIKA IMMONEN | FINLAND
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 0
FINAL EIGHT | 2
ROUND OF 16 | 4
ROUND OF 32 | 2
ROUND OF 64 | 4
During the peak of billiards in the Philippines, there were
a bunch of guys that came and went. One of these guys that we sort of adopted
as our own is Mika Immonen. I have seen a couple of tourneys where he acted as a commentator and there have been instances when he became a guest on a random
Pinoy sitcom. Anyway, in 2001, Immonen won the World 9-Ball Championship in what
is to be a battle of Pinoy foreign favorites. The Iceman prevailed over Ralf
Souquet, 17 racks to ten. Immonen would win another world title as he became
the second World 10-Ball Championship when he defeated Lee Van Corteza. Immonen
is tied for second alongside Dennis Orcollo and Oliver Ortmann for most
knockout stages stints with 13.
4 | ALEX PAGULAYAN | CANADA
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 1
FINAL FOUR | 1
FINAL EIGHT | 0
ROUND OF 16 | 3
ROUND OF 32 | 1
ROUND OF 64 | 5
In 2016, the feel-good Alex Pagulayan would reach the semifinal
just to fall at the hands of eventual champ Albin Ouschan. Now don’t feel sorry
because The Lion is just one of a handful of OGs still succeeding in the
tourney’s current setup. In 2003, Pagulayan would finish second after losing to
eventual champ Thorsten Hohmann. In the following year, The Lion would claim
the 9-Ball Championship at the expense of Chinese Taipei’s Chang Pei-Wei. The
post-recession tournament saw a couple of DNPs and a bunch of preliminary
failures as well. The only other point worth noting is how Pagulayan would
ping-pong his allegiance from Canada to the Philippines because the former is a
place that gave him the opportunity while the other is kind of ignoring his
talents.
3 | RALF SOUQUET | GERMANY
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
WINNER | 1996 WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 0
RUNNER-UP | 2
FINAL FOUR | 1
FINAL EIGHT | 0
ROUND OF 16 | 2
ROUND OF 32 | 5
ROUND OF 64 | 6
Another foreign billiard icon loved by Filipinos, the last
time Ralf won the event was in 1996 when The Kaiser battled and devastated
Swede Tom Storm, eleven racks to one. In the current incarnation of the event,
Souquet has yet to win a crown. In 2005, Ralf Souquet was unable to make the
knockout stages. The same can be said in 2017. But here’s the thing – the
reason why he’s ranked this high is that of the 18 WPA World 9-Ball
Championship editions, Souquet managed to make the Round of 64 a record 16
times. Also, he almost won the title in 2001 when he faced Mika Immonen and in
2006, when he was unable to shake off the hometown momentum of Ronnie Alcano.
The Kaiser did manage to get back on Alcano, this time defeating The Volcano
to rule the 2008 WPA World 8-Ball Championship.
2 | THORSTEN HOHMANN |
GERMANY
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 2
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 0
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 2
ROUND OF 32 | 3
ROUND OF 64 | 4
The five-time World Straight Pool champion (also the current
champion as of this writing) is the only man to win the current incarnation of
the WPA World 9-Ball Championship twice. Hohmann also came in a time when most
of the billiard legends are in semi-retirement mode. In 2003, Hohmann defeated
Django Bustamante in a nail-biter in the quarterfinals after the latter won a
classic match against bosom buddy Efren Reyes. Hohmann would then defeat
another legend in Earl Strickland in the semis before destroying Alex Pagulayan
in the final. The frequent Philippine visitor would replicate his feat a decade
later when he defeated four consecutive Filipinos en route to the 2013 WPA
World 9-Ball Championship. Hohmann would end the tourney of Dennis Orcollo in
the Round of 16, stop Jeff de Luna in the Round of 8, finish Carlo Biado in the
Final Four, and finish Antonio “Gaga” Gabica, 13 racks to 6. This German thorn
also played in a couple of Pinoy tourneys alongside fellow frequent Pinoy
visitors like Mika Immonen and Ralf Souquet and win a couple of events like the 2011
Philippine Open and the 2014 Manny Pacquiao Cup.
1 | FRANCISCO BUSTAMANTE |
PHILIPPINES
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 1
FINAL FOUR | 1
FINAL EIGHT | 2
ROUND OF 16 | 1
ROUND OF 32 | 1
ROUND OF 64 | 5
If you’re Pinoy and straight up love the sport of pool,
there are two schools of thought you’ll likely adhere. If you like the showmanship,
you go with Efren “Bata” Reyes. If you like to win with a no-nonsense approach,
then chances are you’re a Django Bustamante fan. Regardless, Bustie is my pick
to top this list. The German-based cue legend is part of the 90s Pinoy crew led
by Reyes, Amang Parica, Dodong Andam, and Boy Samson Luat in their quest to
destroy the norms of world pool. He may not be known for his razzle-dazzle
shots, he does his damage by striking the ball Bustamante is tied for second
alongside Nick Van Der Berg for most consecutive Round of 64 appearances with
twelve. Five of his twelve knockout stage finishes are within the first and
eighth range. When a family tragedy struck his household in 2002, he finished
second to Earl Strickland. And then after two years of no events due to the
worldwide recession, Bustie outlasted Kuo Po-Cheng to finally win the WPA World
9-Ball Championship. Now I know that Hohmann had two titles but The Hitman is
still young enough to top this list in the future and the same can’t be said
with Bustamante. After missing the knockout stage in 2013, Bustamante has yet
to appear in the event. So a Round of 32 finish in the 2019 WPA World 9-Ball
Championship should catapult Thorsten Hohmann, Ralf Souquet, Alex Pagulayan,
and even Carlo Biado on top of the list. So yeah, I’m letting Django have
number one.
As I wait for this guy to empty his funds to make some sort
of Pacquiao-verse with Wapakman as the leader and his other incarnations as his
cohorts (variety host Pacquiao, inspirational talk show host Pacquiao, action
movie actor Pacquiao, PBA player Pacquiao, billiard player Pacquiao, politician
Pacquiao, comedy actor Pacquiao and singing sensation Pacquiao just to name a
few), his July 20 against Keith Thurman could be significant.
I saw the Sugar Ray Leonard interview and he got adamant at
the fact that his mind wants what his body doesn’t want and I kind of get it.
This is basically another version on how Isiah Thomas would rather sunbathe in some hotel pool than go to team practices – which basically prompted the legendary baller to
hang up his sneakers.
Pacquiao is stubborn like hell though.
Back in the day, a 41-year-old Leonard would be seen as
washed up. Right now, a 40-year-old Pacman is still considered as a draw. When
Oscar de la Hoya retired after losing to the Fighting Pride of the Philippines,
the sport still had the peak versions of Floyd Mayweather, Erik Morales, Juan
Manuel Marquez, Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, and even Canelo Alvarez for
that matter. A couple of years ago, Mayweather had to fight Conor McGregor to
get a great fight purse. This is the state of boxing and believe it or not,
Pacquiao is genuinely finding the right guy to pass his torch.
And unlike Lucas Matthysse, Keith Thurman is looking at
Pacquiao to fuel his Hall of Fame career.
I still think one of Bob Arum’s biggest duds as a boxing
promoter is that he let Pacquiao lose to the likes of Timothy Bradley and Jeff
Horn. With Bradley, he had the tools to succeed but his semi-turtle fight style
suggests that he is anything but a lesser version of Money Mayweather. With
Horn? Well after losing for the first time and losing to Terence Crawford in
his first match away from Australia, Horn got a win in Australian soil against
then-42-year-old boxer/rugby player Anthony Mundine. Horn never acted like the
next boxing sensation which is why he has yet to do anything significant since
losing the belt.
So yeah.
I think Pacquiao still wants to act as the sport’s
gatekeeper. The Lucas Matthysse match is important because he made American
heads turn. Now he is back in the United States and he wants an undefeated
fighter who is eleven years younger than him to push him to the limit.
Oh shit, I forgot the Adrien Broner match happened.
The match was a clinic of sorts for Pacquiao but Broner did
try to participate. With that said, Pacquiao’s awesomeness doomed The Problem
in the eyes of the crowd and in the eyes of the judges.
Keith Thurman is right to say that Manny Pacquiao is
disrespecting him. In reality, a young boxer should never lose to an old boxer.
Worse, an old boxer shouldn’t demand a match against a young boxer with the
mindset of knocking the young one out. I mean, just think of a forty-something
Vince Carter demanding a one-on-one dunk-off against the current champion, Hamidou
Diallo. Sure, Diallo will not have a Hall of Fame career like Air Canada but there
is still a 22-year age gap.
But then, Pacquiao is also the only eight-division world
champion on the planet. Freddie Roach has returned to his side and he has
already freed himself from Arum. He also developed a new and improved style. And
Thurman may be awesome, but none of his fights have star power written, unlike
this fight.
This is both dumb and brave for Pacquiao… and I guess we’re
still going to watch this.
And that’s the thing.
Just imagine Pacquiao acting like Simon Cowell… and he’s
thinking Thurman could be his ugh... Westlife (just bear with me). Pacquiao has done
it all for the sport of boxing and he wants to leave the sport with the proper
torchbearer. When you check out his interviews, all he wants is a good fight
which is why he chose Thurman. Just look at Broner. What promised to be an
exciting fight became a showcase of Pacquiao’s skills. Thurman needs to know
that regardless of the outcome, he needs to fight Pacquiao sans rest holds,
backpedaling or whatever.
If you want to check out numbers 11 to 15, CLICK HERE.
With that said, here are the next five names of this list.
10 | WU JIA-QING | CHINA
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 1
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 2
ROUND OF 32 | 3
ROUND OF 64 | 1
At 16 years old, Wu Xia-Qing became the youngest player to
win the WPA World 9-Ball Championship when he fought off Kuo Po-Cheng in 2005. Wu
is the crowd favorite because he had that Naruto vibe in him (the sudden
superstar in the land of giants). And yeah, in case his name kind of rings a
bell, he is the cue artist formerly known as Wu Chia-Ching (name change due to
a nationality change from Chinese Taipei to China). The Little Genius is also
the only player to win both World 9-Ball Championship and World 8-Ball Championship
in the same year when he defeated Nick Van Den Berg.
9 | CHAO FONG-PANG | CHINESE TAIPEI
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
WINNER | 1993 WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 1
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 0
ROUND OF 32 | 4
ROUND OF 64 | 3
Chao is the only other player besides Earl Strickland to win
the first and second versions of the WPA World 9-Ball Championship. In 1993, he
defeated German Thomas Hasch and in 2000, Chao replicated this feat by
ass-whooping Mexican Ismael Paez, 17 to 6. The tourney has since applied a Race
to 13 final but his eleven-point lead is bar none, the largest winning margin in
the event’s history. Fong-Pang Chao, as he was called by the commentators
during his 2000, is a superb jump shot artist. To accentuate this point, try
watching that awesome shit he pulled against Django Bustamante in 2001
International Challenge of Champions. JUMP SHOOTING FOR THE KILL IS RAD! So why
is the Cool Face Killer positioned so low in the rankings? So after he won in
2000, he has yet to claim a noteworthy finish apart from his quarterfinal finish
he scored in 2004 where he lost to eventual champion, Alex Pagulayan.
8 | KO PIN-YI | CHINESE
TAIPEI
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 0
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 5
ROUND OF 32 | 1
ROUND OF 64 | 3
Chinese Taipei has this knack of naming their pool masters
as if they are part of a Stephen Chow or a Chow Yun-Fat movie. Little Genius… Son of Pool… Cool
Face Killer… and now, lemme tell about The Prince of Pool. So during the event's 2015
edition, Ko Pin-Yi took down Shane Von Boening in dramatic fashion to win the
World WPA 9-Ball Championship. In the same year, Ko silenced the pro-Carlo
Biado Filipino crowd to win the World WPA 10-Ball Championship. In the eleven
times that Ko made the Round of 64, he was able to reach the Round of 16 seven
times. As of this writing, he has yet to reach 30 years old and well, that
means you can expect more from The Prince of Pool in the years to come.
7 | EARL STRICKLAND | USA
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
WINNER | 1990 WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WINNER | 1991 WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 2
FINAL EIGHT | 0
ROUND OF 16 | 1
ROUND OF 32 | 1
ROUND OF 64 | 4
Every sport needs to have that guy you watch to lose. For
billiards, that guy is Earl Strickland. For some reason, the
emotionally-charged American has issues with jeering audiences. With that said,
the emphatic American feeds off their hate to deliver excellent performances as
he is widely recognized as one of the greatest cue masters to play the sport
(people shouldn’t jeer him basically). Strickland is the event’s first winner
when he dispatched Jeff Carter in 1990 and became the first and only back-to-back
winner when he won against Nick Varner. The Pearl would then win his third
title in 2002 by defeating a grief-stricken Django Bustamante – who was playing
the final despite losing his child to sickness prior to the match. Strickland is
the only player to win three titles in the tournament but then, he ranks deep
in this list because he only made the knockout stages nine times and went past
the quarterfinals just three times as well.
6 | CARLO BIADO | PHILIPPINES
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 1
FINAL FOUR | 1
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 2
ROUND OF 32 | 1
ROUND OF 64 | 1
Lucky Luke is probably an odd name for Carlo Biado. For
starters, I doubt if he has a “Luke” in his name. And well, he wasn’t lucky to
do caddie work to support his studies while also perfecting his craft at night.
But here’s the thing – this guy is going to lead Pinoy billiards to the next era as indeed, since making the knockout stages in 2011, Carlo Biado
has been absolute gold. In 2013, Biado would reach the semifinal round only to
lose to eventual champ Thorsten Hohmann. In 2017, Biado would school Liu Haitao
and Wu Kun-Lin as well as fellow Pinoys Jeff Ignacio and finalist Roland
Garcia to win the championship. Biado would have become the first back-to-back
winner since Earl Strickland in 2018 but he stumbled on a roadblock in the form
of Joshua Filler.
If you want to check out numbers 16 to 20, CLICK HERE.
With that said, here are the next five names of this list.
15 | ALBIN OUSCHAN | AUSTRIA
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 1
FINAL FOUR | 0
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 1
ROUND OF 32 | 1
ROUND OF 64 | 0
In 2013, Ouschan made his WPA 9-Ball Championship debut and
was unable to advance to the knockout stages. The following year, he would lose
the championship to Niels Feijen in just three racks. Then two years later, the
Austrian would capture the crown by defeating American Shane Van Boening. And
the thing about Ouschan is that he’s only 28 and the future looks bright if he
could sustain his career. And yeah, since billiard greatness is somewhat
hereditary, Albin and equally-impressive Jasmine Ouschan became the first
brother and sister team to reach the WPA World 9-Ball Tournament final.
14 | KUO PO-CHENG | CHINESE
TAIPEI
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 0
RUNNER-UP | 2
FINAL FOUR | 1
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 1
ROUND OF 32 | 0
ROUND OF 64 | 2
Much like most Chinese Taipei cue stars of the early 2000s,
Kuo looks like an innocent face… that will destroy you if given a
chance. Anyway, he was just one rack short from claiming the World 9-Ball
Championship in 2005 against Wu Chia-Ching. The Little Monster would also reach
the 2010 tournament but his chances were derailed by Django Bustamante. Kuo
almost reached the tournament final for the third time in 2004 but stumbled on
another roadblock in the form of eventual winner Alex Pagulayan.
13 | NIELS FEIJEN | THE
NETHERLANDS
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 0
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 2
ROUND OF 32 | 3
ROUND OF 64 | 5
Dubbed as The Terminator, Niels Feijen has had time on top
of the mountain. After more than a decade of falling short (his best finish at
that point is a Top 8 place in the 2001 WPA World 9-Ball Championship), he
finally won the big time tourney by defeating Albin Ouschan, 13 racks to 10.
Apart from this tourney, Feijen is also a mainstay for Team Europe in the
Mosconi Cup and in 2008, he won against Django Bustamante to capture the World
Straight Pool Championship.
12 | EFREN “BATA” REYES | PHILIPPINES
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 0
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 2
ROUND OF 32 | 3
ROUND OF 64 | 5
Hailed by many as the greatest pool player to revolutionize
the sport, Efren Reyes is the inaugural winner of the current WPA World 9-Ball
Championship version. Showtime Efren against the robotic Chang Hao-Ping in 1999
could have been one key to the eventual merger of the two events. With that
said, can you imagine a young Magician in this tourney? This is one of the
biggest what-ifs of Reyes’ legendary career because it was evident during the
early 2000s that he’d rather push new blood because he had nothing else to
prove in the sport. The fact that Reyes was already 45 years old at the time of
his win says something about his future World 9-Ball title battles. His
contemporaries like Nick Varner, Mike Lebron, Kim Davenport, and Amang Parica
among others were on the verge of retirement when the tourney rolled through. In
fact, the only other time The Magician made it past the Round of 16 was when he
lost to bosom buddy Django Bustamante in the 2002 edition. In some instances, it
felt as if Reyes would rather impress the crowd with his trick shots than
winning the event.
11 | SHANE VAN BOENING | USA
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 0
RUNNER-UP | 2
FINAL FOUR | 1
FINAL EIGHT | 2
ROUND OF 16 | 0
ROUND OF 32 | 3
ROUND OF 64 | 0
The South Dakota Kid is another player that is poised to
take the world of pool into the future. The third generation cue artist is
hearing-impaired but as per career, this is not an issue. If you speak of his
mainland USA accomplishments, Shane has won the US Open 9-Ball Championships a
record of five times. And in the last five WPA World 9-Ball Championships, Van
Boening has had two runner-ups, one final four, and one big eight finish. In
2015, he became the last hurdle to Ko Pin-Yi’s title and a year later, he
became the last person Albin Ouschan faced en route to his title. In the 2018
edition, he made the semifinal but fell to defending champion and eventual
runner-up Carlo Biado.
If you want to check out numbers 21 to 25,CLICK HERE.
With that said, here are the next five names of this list.
20 | YANG CHING-SHUN | CHINESE
TAIPEI
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 0
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 1
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 3
ROUND OF 32 | 2
ROUND OF 64 | 5
I am a fan of this guy – nicknamed The Son of Pool. He reminds
me of Sojiro Seta – the emotionless right-hand man of Makoto Shishio in the
Samurai X anime. Watching him back then, he looks like a kid with a killer’s
instinct and I think he still has those attributes in him. Anyway, Yang has yet
to win a major pool championship but he is a two-time Asian Games gold
medallist. The closest he ever got to a WPA championship was in 2002 when lost
his semifinal match to Django Bustamante.
19 | JOHNNY ARCHER | USA
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
WINNER | 1992 WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WINNER | 1997 WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 0
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 1
FINAL EIGHT | 2
ROUND OF 16 | 1
ROUND OF 32 | 2
ROUND OF 64 | 3
An iconic figure in the world of billiards, Archer back then
frequently visited the Philippines to go mano y mano with Efren “Bata” Reyes.
During the first incarnation of the WPA World 9-Ball Championship, The Scorpion
became the only other player besides Earl Strickland to win the event twice.
With that said, Archer struggled to claim the title in this incarnation. In
2010, the last year he’ll get past the Round of 64, Archer would make the Final
Four only to lose to Kuo Po Chen, 11 to 10. If he won that match, Archer would
have set up a final against his other Filipino archrival Django Bustamante.
18 | RONNIE ALCANO | PHILIPPINES
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 1
FINAL FOUR | 0
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 0
ROUND OF 32 | 0
ROUND OF 64 | 3
In 2006, Ronnie Alcano defeated heavy favorite Ralf Souquet
and became the third person after Earl Strickland and Johnny Archer to win the
WPA World 9-Ball Championship in his homeland (Alcano is actually the first
person to accomplish the feat for the event’s updated incarnation). The Volcano
almost had a second title in 2011 but he was stopped by Yukio Akakariyama.
Alcano would also win the World 8-Ball title in 2007 – besting compatriot
Dennis Orcollo.
17 | DENNIS ORCOLLO | PHILIPPINES
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 0
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 1
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 3
ROUND OF 32 | 2
ROUND OF 64 | 6
There was a time in which Dennis Orcollo was recognized as
the top player in the world. He won gold in the 2010 Asian Games and in the
following year was proclaimed World 8-Ball Champion (defeating Niels Feijen).
With that said, This Filipino event earnings machine has yet to reach the final
of the World 9-Pool Championship. Dubbed as Robocop for his no-nonsense
approach, his best finish came in 2011 – where he lost to Pinoy rival and
eventual runner-up, Ronnie Alcano.
16 | DARYL PEACH | ENGLAND
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1990 TO 1999
NONE
WPA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | 1999 TO PRESENT
WINNER | 1
RUNNER-UP | 0
FINAL FOUR | 0
FINAL EIGHT | 1
ROUND OF 16 | 1
ROUND OF 32 | 1
ROUND OF 64 | 7
Dubbed as The Dazzler, Daryl Peach became the first
Englishman to win the WPA World 9-Ball Championship when he defeated Filipino
Roberto Gomez in 2007. Peach is also the last winner before the tournament’s
two-year hiatus due to the worldwide recession. So why is The Dazzler ranked this
low? Well prior to his 2007 win, Peach barely survived the preliminary rounds.
And the only other time Peach went far was in 2011 when he lost to Dennis
Orcollo in the quarterfinal round.
