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MANILA, Philippines—About the only thing not going Demosthenes Pulpul’s way at the World Ten Ball Championship is how much people are trying to find negativism in his name.
But the unheralded Filipino has been nothing but a picture of brilliance—although he needed luck before toppling blonde bombshell Jasmine Ouschan to reach the last 32 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City Thursday night.
The 23-year-old from Cagayan de Oro City prevailed in a long, tense and error-filled battle with the curvy Austrian, the women’s world No. 1, needing one lucky break late in the 17th frame to pull off a 9-8 victory and send Ouschan off the television table crying.
“I really thought that I had lost that match,” the father of two, whose surname means anything but brilliant in English, told scribes in Filipino. “I was also nervous because it was a TV match.”
Pulpul next plays Japan’s Kazuo Furuta, a 9-6 winner over former world champ Oliver Ortmann of Germany.
The first Filipino to advance was veteran Leonardo Didal, a 9-5 winner over Taiwan’s Chang Chun-shun, even as obscure local bet Arnel Bautista was shown the door by Daryl Peach, the reigning world 9-ball champion.
Marlon Manalo, the Philippines’ brightest hope in this $400,000 event, was slated to play Italian Fabio Petroni late Thursday night.
Jeffrey de Luna, the power-breaking 24-year-old who sports a hairdo that looks straight out of an anime series, rallied to a 9-8 victory over Serbian Sander Tot, winning the last four racks.
Ouschan, who eliminated Thomas Engert of Germany Wednesday night to get to the KO stages, actually erased a 2-5 deficit, using breaks as hard as a man’s and precise potting for a 6-5 lead.
The Filipino then eased out front, 7-6, after playing a spectacular kick shot off the side rail and nailing the striped 10.
Pulpul was the first to take the hill after Ouschan broke the 15th frame dry and was on the table with an 8-7 lead. But Pulpul flubbed the No. 1 ball, allowing the Austrian to clean up the table.
Ouschan then dropped three balls in her break of the final rack and seemed well on the way to advancing, reducing Pulpul to a pitiful sight. The Filipino was covering his entire face with one hand when disaster struck the Austrian.
The 22-year-old missed what looked like an easy shot on the orange 5 to the top corner pocket and Pulpul pounced on the mistake.
Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei’s Wu Chia-ching won over Stevie Moore of the United States, 9-4, and next faces Italian Bruno Muratore, a 9-6 winner over Dharminder Singh Lilly of India.
Peach reached the Last 32 against close buddy Mark Gray of Britain.
Gray, the top-ranked player in Europe, advanced after a 9-6 decision of US star Corey Deuel even as ailing German Ralf Souquet also marched on.
The clean-shaven Souquet humbled Brit Majid Iman, 9-5, hours after getting hospitalized Wednesday night due to stomach pains. He next clashes with Hungarian Vilmos Foldes, a 9-6 victor over the Spaniard Carlos Cabello.
Shane Van Boening of the US stopped Tony Drago of Malta, 9-3.
