Philippines Open pool: Yapp, Biado and Chua lead last 16 in Quezon City as Pecelj books Mosconi Cup debut
Singapore's Aloysius Yapp, Carlo Biado and Johann Chua are in the Philippines Open last 16, and Aleksa Pecelj has clinched his first Mosconi Cup place.
The Philippines Open Pool Championship reaches its last 16 on Friday at Gateway Mall in Quezon City. Singapore's Aloysius Yapp, home favourites Carlo Biado and Johann Chua, and defending champion David Alcaide are still in the draw. On Thursday Serbia's Aleksa Pecelj also clinched his first Mosconi Cup place while he was still playing his match.
Upsets on day one
The 128-player event began on Tuesday with several big names going out. Francisco "Django" Bustamante, who captained Team Asia at the Reyes Cup the previous week, lost 10-0 to fellow Filipino Rodrigo Geronimo. He admitted afterwards that he had missed a lot of balls. AJ Manas led Rommel Janael Santos 8-3 and still lost 10-9, and Germany's Moritz Neuhausen lost 10-6 to Meynard Tipawan. Dennis Orcollo and Lee Vann Corteza also went out early.
Alcaide survives, Pecelj celebrates
Alcaide's title defence nearly ended in round two, when he beat Paul John Ortega 10-9 in a hill-hill decider. He then beat Skyler Woodward 10-6 to reach the last 16. Yapp, whom Absolute Pool describes as world No 1, beat Michael Feliciano 10-3. Shane van Boening and Chua also won, with Chua beating James Aranas 10-8.
Pecelj beat Justin Bergman 10-2. During that match, results elsewhere meant he could no longer be caught for an automatic place on Team Europe. "It's a dream come true," Pecelj told the World Nineball Tour. He will join Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and Joshua Filler in Europe's team for the Mosconi Cup in Orlando from 27 to 30 November. For the United States, Thorsten Hohmann moved past Tyler Styer into one of the last automatic places, alongside Van Boening.
Friday's last-16 line-up
- Aloysius Yapp v Baseth Mocaibat
- Shane van Boening v Edwin Dela Cruz Gamas
- Anton Raga v Jefrey Roda
- Jayson Shaw v Fedor Gorst
- Francisco Sanchez Ruiz v Thorsten Hohmann
- Bernie Regalario v David Alcaide
- Johann Chua v Aleksa Pecelj
- Albert Januarta v Carlo Biado
Shaw's match against Gorst opens the round. Januarta, from Indonesia, plays Biado, and Raga and Roda meet in an all-Filipino match. Matches are races to 10 through to the quarter-finals.
Saturday finale in Malaysia time
The semi-finals (race to 11) and the final (race to 13) are on Saturday 24 October over two sessions. Manila and Malaysia are in the same time zone, so the start times in Quezon City are also Malaysia time. The champion wins US$20,000 from a US$100,000 prize fund. Three tables are shown on WNT TV, and one table is streamed free on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel.
Key takeaways
- Singapore's Aloysius Yapp, Carlo Biado, Johann Chua and defending champion David Alcaide are all in Friday's last 16.
- Francisco Bustamante lost 10-0 on day one, a week after captaining Asia at the Reyes Cup.
- Aleksa Pecelj clinched his first Mosconi Cup place during his 10-2 win over Justin Bergman.
- Jayson Shaw v Fedor Gorst is the stand-out last-16 match.
- The semi-finals and final are on Saturday, and the winner takes US$20,000.
FAQ
Where is the 2026 Philippines Open Pool Championship being played? At Gateway Mall in Quezon City, Metro Manila, from 20 to 24 October 2026. It is a World Nineball Tour event with a US$100,000 prize fund.
Is Aloysius Yapp still in the Philippines Open? Yes. The Singaporean beat Michael Feliciano 10-3 in the last 32 and plays Baseth Mocaibat in the last 16 on Friday.
How can I watch the Philippines Open in Malaysia? One table is streamed free on the Matchroom Pool YouTube channel. Subscribers to WNT TV can watch three more tables. Local times in Manila are the same as Malaysia time.
Sources: World Nineball Tour, Absolute Pool, AZBilliards, Rack 9