KUWAIT CITY, March 21: The Hotline Billiards Hall in Salhiya Complex, Kuwait City, is the place to be every Friday evening as another action-packed competition, organized by the Filipino Billiards Club in Kuwait (FBCK) and sponsored by Western Union Money Transfer, opened there this week.
This event — “FBCK-Western Union Summer Cup” — is being run under the supervision of FBCK President Chito Carlos, supported by FBCK Adviser Renz Balintos, and both of them are making tremendous   efforts to continue organizing quality tournaments with a lot of help from their official bearers composed of Rey Soriano Treasurer, Bong Tablan Secretary and Edmond Walt Bravo FBCK Coordinator.  
For this particular tournament, the FBCK Technical Committee decided on a 9-Ball mode of game in three categories composed of Class A, B and C with the best of 7 frames in the elimination round.

Games proper
Over 20 competitors have registered for this event but since there are only two billiard tables available in the arena only a limited games could be played that day.
An additional winning point (handicap) is given to selected players in Class A before the game starts to enable them to be on level terms with their opponents.
Meanwhile, in case a player loses in the initial round a re-entry is provided for them to compete until the elimination round is over.

Class A
One of FBCK’s regular competitors Rico Tan Plazo (handicap plus 1) showed some real class when he showed a lot of accuracy and focus to hold off a really tough challenge from FBCK President Chito Carlos to take the match by 7 frames to 6.The match was really close and could have gone either way with the decision coming in the last frame.
Allan Villamor, who also has a handicap of one, however, did not seem any help when he slammed Sultan Mohammad Sayed 7-2. Such was Villamor’s domination that he could take things easy and still win by a big margin.
JR “Pogi” Picaso, on the other hand, was made to sweat during every single frame but his determination paid off when he  outlasted Dennis Fernandez, one of the finest players on the circuit who has been recognized on several occasions, by 7-6 frames.
Rene Torrecampo, one of the FBCK Tournament Coordinators, was back with a bang when he displayed a  keen eye in playing the right balls and at the same time   wasted no effort to brush aside Baby Supangan 7-1 while Randy de Vera proved that he was already thinking of his next opponent   when he executed good shots to overcome Nonoy Manoy 7-3.
Class B
Arnel Rivera, who plays in  Class B, proved how good he is when he put in an all-round performance to outclass Alih Ampatuan by 7-5 frames. The loser fought right until the end before he caved in to a superior performance.
One of the FBCK PROs,  Adel Mercado, displayed his craft and proved that he is one of  the most progressive players when he took Jess Aguilar to task and showed how things are done to win easily by 7-3 frames.
 Amir Palti was at his best when it came to executing angle shots and did not take too much time to thump Jun Remina by 7-2 frames.
On the other hand, Gerry Aguilar who not only excels in badminton, showed that he is at home in billiard halls when he maintained a solid game to stand out in this class when he outwitted one of the chess wizards Ferdie Laming by 7-4 frames. Aguilar placed the balls in all the right pockets to show his mastery over this game and his opponent.

Class C
There were three matches  in Class C with the first one seeing Mark Briones put on an exceptional performance and earn a hard-fought victory over  Noel Marcelino 7-4 points.
Meanwhile, Egay Torres had a close game before finally beating Jess Aguilar 7-5 while FBCK Treasurer Rey Soriano who had in an earlier tournament clinched the first runners-up spot showed that he means business again in this championship with a good game right from the first round  when he wasted no effort to tame Nestor Vicente by 7-2 frames. Soriano’s dominance was such that his opponent found the going tough right from the first frame.
While there might not be world class players in this tournament, the enthusiasm and determination shown by all the players proves that all of them have not come into this tournament only to win, exhibit their skills and learn from the better players but also to bond strongly into the community.
From the matches on the first day, one can easily feel that a lot exhilarating matches await billiard enthusiasts since registration for this  event is still open. So just drop in at the Hotline Billiards Hall in Salhiya Complex, register for the tournament and play.

Rules
The FBCK tournament is guided by the rules of 9 balls. 9 balls are used and racked in a diamond shape for a start. The balls are racked with the 1-ball at the top of the diamond and on the foot spot, the 9-Ball in the center of the diamond, and the other balls in random order. The balls should be racked as tightly as possible. 9-Ball games begin with cue ball in hand behind the head string. 9-Ball is played with a cue ball and nine object balls numbered 1 through 9. 9-Ball is a “rotation” game, meaning that the balls are shot in numerical order. The shooting player must strike the lowest numbered ball on the table first. Players are not required to call any shot, and the game is won when the nine ball is pocketed. A player retains their turn at the table as long as they strike the lowest numbered ball first, avoid fouls, and pockets a ball on each shot. After a miss, the incoming player must shoot from the position left by the previous player, but after any foul the incoming player may start with the cue ball anywhere on the table. The player need not pocket the lowest numbered ball to continue shooting. He may, for example, shoot the 1-ball into the 4-ball thus pocketing the 4. He will continue shooting but must again strike the 1 ball first. If the player shoots the 1-ball into the 9-ball and the 9 is pocketed, the game is over. The winner of the lag has the option to break the rack. In 9-Ball, the winner of each game breaks in the next, unless otherwise specified by the 9-Ball tournament organizer. The following are common options that may be designated by various tournament officials in advance 1) Players alternate break 2) Loser breaks 3) Player trailing in game count breaks the next game however, FBCK officials applied winner gets to break.
The rules governing the break shot are the same as for other legal shots except:
n The breaker must strike the1-ball first and either pocket a ball or drive at least four numbered balls to the rail.
n If the cue ball is pocketed or driven off the table, or the requirements of the opening break are not met, it is a foul, and the incoming player has cue ball in hand anywhere on the table.
n If on the break shot, the breaking player causes any object ball to leave the table, it is considered a foul. At this juncture, the incoming player has cue ball in hand anywhere on the table. The object ball is not re-spotted (exception: if the object ball is the 9-Ball, it is re-spotted)

FBCK Officials 2010
President    Chito Carlos
Vice President    Joseph Manzo   
Secretary    Allan de Tablan
Assistant Secretary    Jojo Atilano
Treasurer    Rey Soriano
Auditor    Lemuel Rivera
PRO    Sosimo Carillo            Adel Mercado
Sgt. at Arms    Sahid Hassim
    Edilberto de Tablan
    Jesus Aguilar   
    Rex Palencia            Nestor Aguilar
Tournament Coordinators    Joey Aguilar            Roy Salac
    Rene Torrecampo
    Jeff Aguilar
    Edmond Walt Bravo
Adviser    Arnel Mendoza
    Alfonso “Jako” Salem
    Yousef Al Khabbas
    Rodrigo Aguilar
FBCK organizers would like to thank their sponsor Vangie Gernale and Marimel Labastida from Western Union Money Transfer and Hotline Billiards for supporting their event.