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The youthful Jonas Magpantay, a freshman of the Ponciano Bernardo High School in Cubao, dominated the 32-player field 1st PAGCOR-KABAYAN Bilyar Aralan 9-Ball Challenge on Sunday at the Jaca Billiards Hall in Recto Avenue in Manila.
Magpantay, 15, proved why he is one of the country's brightest hope in pool as he crushed Nueva Ecija native Edward de Guzman, 8-1, and take home the coveted the title plus the top purse of P20,000.
De Guzman, a 22-year-old Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) student, settled for runner-up honors and went home P10,000 richer.
"All my hard work has paid off", said Magpantay, who raced to an early 4-0 lead before de Guzman won the fifth frame.
From there, Magpantay never looked back, winning the last four racks for an 8-1 triumph.
Magpantay said his next stint will be at the 3rd Philippine Junior Pool Championship, set July 8 to 11. He was a quarterfinalist in last year's World Junior of Pool Championships in Reno, Nevada.
The double elimination, race-to-5, alternate break format event was organized by Noli Sangil Cruz, president of the Lion’s Den Enterprises. It was supported by Vice President Noli “Kabayan” De Castro, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
Magpantay started his campaign on the wrong foot, losing to unheralded Noel Araniel, 5-1, in the first round on Friday.
He bounced back by winning all his matches to progress in the money round starting with his walkover win against Christian Rivera. He also blasted Jesamine Ventura, 5-0, J.D. Serdan, 5-2, Ronald Cayetano, 5-1, Lourjay Cardino, 6-2, then toppled Araniel, 6-4, in their rematch on Saturday before beating Bulacan's Jeffrey Dayaon, 7-5, in the final four.
De Guzman brought downed Husly Jusayan, 7-4, in the other semifinal match on Sunday.
In the battle for third, Jusayan defeated Dayaon, 7-4, to receive P5,000, a and cue sticks. Dayaon didn't go empty-handed as he won the consolation prize of P3,000 and also got cue sticks.
