MANILA – Ronnie "The Volcano" Alcano and Antonio “Ga-Ga” Gabica joined compatriots Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo and Lee Vann “The Slayer” Corteza in the Last 64 of the 2009 World Ten-Ball Championship (WTBC) at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Gabica, the 2006 Asian Games 9-ball gold medallist, hammered Erik Hjorliefson of Canada, 9-2, for his second straight victory. The win was good enough for him to propel into the next round.

“Sana magpatuloy ang magandang tumbok natin,” said Gabica, who earlier brought down Ralf Mund of Germany, 9-2.

Alcano, winner of world titles in 8-ball and 9-ball, said the real fight begins in the Last 64.

“Mabuti nakapasok (It’s good to be in),” he said following a 9-4 win over Taipei’s Cheng Tsung Hua. It was his second straight win after he tripped on opening-day and lost to Chinese newbie Dang Jin Hu.

The Final 64 begins Saturday with the winners moving on to the closing stages of the world-class tournament being played under world-class conditions. The champion here gets $60,000 (P2.8 million).

“Ito na ang 64 na magagaling (These are 64 of the best players),” said Alcano, adding that 10-ball, now the hottest game in the circuit, is so tough the element of luck as in 8-ball or 9-ball has been practically eliminated.

Earlier, former World No. 1 Orcollo nipped Thomas Kaplan of Poland, 9-5, while Davao City ace Corteza blanked Asian money-game king Yang Ching-Shun of Chinese-Taipei, 9-0, to advance into the Last 64.

Although the much feared Yang was the first one to break, he couldn’t get a good opening for his shots. This opened the way for Corteza to quickly rack up a 3-0 lead.

When the match turned into a battle of safeties in the fourth, Corteza again prevailed. His luck continued throughout the game.

“I’ve played Yang several times over the years,” said Corteza, who has won several gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games. “But this is the only time that I caught him on a bad day. That’s the game of pool. Even the best sometimes run out of luck -- and lose.”

Also advancing into the Last 64 were Neils Feijen of the Netherlands, who whipped Chang Pei-Wei of Chinese-Taipei, 9-5; Naoyuki Ooi, who nipped Vincent Facquet of France, 9-8; Ignacio Chavez, who won over Nguyen Anh Tuan of Vietnam, 9-5; Fu Jian Bo of China, who nosed out Marcus Chamat of Sweden, 9-8; Imran Majid, who defeated David Alcaide of Spain, 9-5; Li Hewen of China, who outlasted Jomar de Ocampo, 9-6; and Mario He of Austria, who subdued Mehmet Cankurt, 9-3. With reports from Marlon Bernardino and The Philippine Star