Hsia Hui Kai Makes his First Semifinal Appearance in the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour

Hsia Hui Kai Makes his First Semifinal Appearance in the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour First Hong Kong Leg Champion Set to Emerge Tomorrow The San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour, the first-ever world-class 9-ball tournament held in Hong Kong, started today, April 17, 2004, with first two rounds of matches and the first two quarterfinals. “Stone Face Killer” Chao Fong Pang and “Assassin” Hsia Hui Kai, both from Chinese Taipei, book the first two seats in the semifinals tomorrow. The other two quarterfinals will be held tomorrow at the Hong Kong Football Club, starting at 12:00, followed by the race-to-11 semis and the final.First RoundNo big upsets occurred in the first round except the exit of Alok Kumar. The Indian player failed to make his third consecutive semifinal appearance in the tour as he wasted a 5-1 lead and lost 5-9 to Chinese Taipei’s Hsia Hui Kai.Philippine players prevailed in the two Chinese Taipei-Filipino clashes in Round 1. Francisco “Django” Bustamante beat Wsang Hua Fong 9-5, while Antonio Gabica edged Fan Chi Sheng 9-6.
The hosts have much to celebrate as Au Chi Wai became the first Hong Kong player to advance to the second round in the Tour. The Busan Asian Games snooker team gold medalist beat Manan Chandra of India 9-7.Second Round1993 and 2000 world champion Chao Fong Pang’s meeting with Warren Kiamco was the match to watch in the second round. Kiamco, the triple runner-up in first three legs of the Tour in 2003 and ‘04, committed three fouls in the first six racks and soon found himself trailing 1-6. Chao then never turned back and won 9-3.Reyes almost followed Kiamco’s steps, but he finally survived a 9-8 thriller against Fu Jian Bo of China. It was a close match that both players tied eight times throughout the game. But Fu’s foul at the 17th rack was fatal, and “The Magician” then took the chance to win and kept his chance for the fourth title in the tour.Patrick Ooi became the first Malaysian player in the quarterfinal after he beat fourth-seeded Jeong Young Hwa of Korea 9-5.QuarterfinalHowever, Ooi was then stopped by Chao Fong Pang in the quarterfinal. Chao led 5-2 before a time out and finished the match by 9-5 with a golden break in the 14th rack.Francisco Bustamante’s dream of clinching the first tour title has to be delayed again as he was beaten 7-9 by Hsia Hui Kai in the last quarterfinal of the day. Current world number one Bustamante started the game with a 4-0 lead, but Hsia managed to come back with six racks in a row. “Django” then pulled two racks back, but his effort was in vain as Hsia took the next two racks to make his first semifinal appearance in the tour.For all information on the tour, please check out www.asian9-balltour.com. For the latest schedules and program information on ESPN STAR Sports, catch us on the net at www.espnstar.com <http://www.espnstar.com/> .Sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union, the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is organized by ESPN STAR Sports’ Event Management Group (EMG). San Miguel Beer is the title sponsor for the Tour. Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls, respectively. STAR Sports is the official broadcaster. In the Hong Kong leg, Olio is the official table, Hong Kong Pool Club is the official supporter and Hong Kong Football Club is the official venue. The 2004 Tour has events in Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Manila. Besides total prize money of US$250,000, top 10 on the Tour Order of Merit every year will directly qualify into the World Pool Championships. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest in the sport of billiards and pool.

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