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| Jaybee Sucal took a picture along with his fans after a hard-fought win against Sean Malayan. Ivan Saldajeno |
QUEZON CITY—Crowd favorite Jaybee Sucal survived a late scare from compatriot Sean Malayan for a 10-8 win in Day 2 of the Philippines Open Pool Championship on Wednesday at the Gateway Mall 2 Quantum Skyview.
Sucal raced to a 9-4 lead, only for Malayan to win four straight racks to make things interesting.
Sucal eventually escaped after Malayan scratched midway into Rack 18.
The teenage sensation, who will turn 18 next month, thanked his fans for the loud support that motivated him in the match.
"Kung hindi lang dahil sa mga tao, hindi ako mananalo. Iba rin talaga pag marami kang fans kasi yung kalaban ko, magaling," Sucal said while praising Malayan's gallant stand.
Meanwhile, Team Rest of the World's momentum from ruling the Reyes Cup continued to the Philippines Open Pool Championship as five of its members won their respective opening matches.
Fedor Gorst delivered a 10-0 bagel to Vitaly Pavlukhin, while Shane Van Boening beat British opponent Chris Stripple 10-2.
Reyes Cup MVP Francisco Sanchez Ruiz also beat Filipino foe Genesis Ouano by a 10-2 scoreline, while team captain Ralf Souquet overcame a heavy challenge from Jun Villon for a 10-5 win.
Aleksa Pecelj completed the 5-0 day for Team ROW with a 10-1 win against Paul Gulbrandsen.
Joshua Filler decided not to join the Philippines Open.
In another first-round match, Skylar Woodward survived a comeback from Kenneth Arpilleda for a 10-9 win.
Woodward blew an 8-1 lead and let Arpilleda reach the hill first, but Arpilleda committed a critical break scratch that brought the momentum back to Woodward to force the hill-hill situation.
In the deciding rack, Woodward's risk of pocketing the four-ball with a very tough shot worked as he eventually cleaned up the balls to secure the win.
Meanwhile, the Round of 64 also commenced on Wednesday with Filipino standouts Robbie Capito and Johann Chua winning their matches.
