Alcano falls at final hurdle, winds up 2nd in US Open

By Inquirer MANILA, Philippines--Ronnie Alcano missed a chance to make pool history Saturday. Shane Van Boening took the measure of the dual world champion Alcano for the second time in as many days, 13-10, and bagged the 32nd US Open crown Saturday night in Chesapeake, Virginia. The loss prevented the 34-year-old Alcano from becoming the first player to reign supreme in the World Pool Championship, World 8-Ball Championship and US Open at the same time. The 24-year-old Van Boening, who sent Alcano to the losers’ bracket Friday, grabbed $50,000 and a spot on Team USA in the Mosconi Cup. Alcano settled for $25,000. The two are expected to meet again and play key roles for their respective teams in the Kabayan World 9-Ball Challenge: Philippines vs Rest of the World on Nov. 12-13 in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. “It’s very disappointing,” said Alcano in Filipino during a telephone conversation with Bugsy Promotions manager Perry Mariano. Alcano led by two after eight racks, 5-3, when he sued for time. After the breather, Alcano never holed a ball in his last six breaks. “I’ve been breaking well the whole tournament,” he said. “I don’t know why I suddenly ran out of luck on my break.” Alcano also requested for a change of referee, but his bad spell continued. Alcano was untouchable heading to the finals, routing his three opponents in the one-loss bracket to set up a rematch with Van Boening. He beat Louis Ulrich, 11-3, Ralf Souquet, 11-3 and Tomoki Mikari, 11-5. Rumors of conspiracy to doom the chances of Filipino players started to circulate even before the tournament started. Six marquee players from the Philippines, including Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, were bunched in the same group. Marlon Bernardino, Contributor