Ignacio rules Indonesia International 10-Ball Open
JEFFREY Ignacio defeated Robbie Capito 10-3 in the finals on Thursday, January 25, to rule the Indonesia International 10-Ball Open in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Ignacio reached the finals after stunning world number one Francisco Sanchez Ruiz of Spain 10-6 in the semifinals even as Capito, a Filipino who now carries the Hong Kong flag, topped Jonas Magpantay of the Philippines 10-7 in the other semis showdown.
Earlier, Ignacio trounced Dimitris Loukatos of Greece 10-3 in the round of 16 and another countryman Jeffrey Aranas 10-7 in the quarterfinals.
Capito, on the other hand, outplayed Gebby Adi Wibawa Putra of Indonesia 10-6 and Wu Kun-Lin of Chinese-Taipei 10-5.
Ignacio, one of the top players of the star-studded Marboys Billiards Club, pocketed the $25,000 prize. His stint here was supported by JR Velasco and Marvin Paringit.
Capito went home with the $12,000 purse while Magpantay and Ruiz received $6,000 for reaching the semis.
“Our sacrifices have paid off. We are able to put the Philippines in the limelight again for this worthy achievement. I would like to thank my Marboys Billiards Club teammates for the support,” said Ignacio.
He also expressed gratitude to Velasco and Paringit for inspiring them to represent the country in international competitions with a mission to bring back the glory days of Philippine billiards.
“Thank you Boss (JR Velasco) for your unending support. Because of you Philippine billiards is alive again,” said Ignacio in a personal message to Velasco which the latter shared to the media.
Velasco, on the other hand, was impressed but not really surprised with Ignacio’s win in Indonesia.
“Awesome Performance!” he posted on the Marboys social media page.