Roberto Gomez
He wasn't world champion material when I first saw him in person. You couldn't blame me for that impression.
Wearing a white polo shirt, he held a cluster of playing cards and was seated opposite Efren Bata Reyes. As Bata shakes his head, apparently because of a poor roster of cards, Gomez halts the air of seriousness with a joke.
And if I wasn't inside the foggy, dark and cramped VIP room of the Celebrity Bar and Billiards in Bacolod City, I could have mistaken him for a big-time gambler who was there for the poker, not for the billiards. I was mistaken.
Much has changed since that late August night for Gomez.
Now, he is on the brink of becoming the Philippines' third world billiards champion, after amazing displays of pocket billiards that have propelled him past fancied opponents.
The $100,000 purse, instant fame, endorsement deals and of course, pool immortality beckons for the 28-year-old from Zamboanga, who, according to my good friend Marlon Bernardino was an ABS-CBN Zamboanga field reporter.
Just like Ronnie Alcano last year, no one expected Gomez to be the last Pinoy standing in the 128-player tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.
When I saw him dismantle Dutchman Niels Feijin, 11-0, in the Round of 16 early this morning, I thought he had all the tools to ensure that the crown stays with the Philippines. An ability to make adjustments on his break (soft break in table 1 to hard break in table 2), a composed and confident demeanor and superb pocket billiards skills.
At this moment when everything seems to be falling into place for Gomez, Daryl Peach of England may not be the biggest stumbling block from pool immortality. Its Gomez himself.
"I just make sure I play well. I dont mind who my opponent is," Gomez told Georgina Chang of Espnstar following his win over Feijn.
Here's the Agence France Presse news story about Gomez and Peach's wins. I think the reporter got mixed up in the last paragraph where he said that Gomez beat Vilmos Foldes of Hungary in the semis. (It was Karl Boyes who lost to Gomez in the semis)
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