By MARK REY MONTEJO
Bernie Regalario and Marvin Asis emerged as top Filipino finishers after ending up tied for third place in the 2026 Carabao International 9-Ball Open at the NICE PIK 2 in Jakarta, Indonesia last weekend.
Regalario and Asis even outshined Carlo Biado and Johann Chua in the 128-man field after reaching the semis.
They lost to hometown bet Irsal Nasution (11-7) and eventual champion Japanese Naoyuki Oi (11-3), respectively.
Oi turned back Nasution, 13-3, to wrest the crown and collect the grand winner’s purse of P1.1 million in the tournament that offered a $100,000 prize fund.
Biado, who recently reigned in the Asian Men’s 10-Ball Championship held in the same Indonesian city, was stunned by Ronel Nalaunan, 8-10, in Round of 64.
Despite falling short for a title shot, the two pool stars will be taking home $5,000 (P292,022) each for reaching the semis.
“Fought hard for the comeback, but it was too late. Still grateful to finish 3rd place — amazing experience, lots learned, and I’ll be back stronger!” said Regalario on his social media post.
The 21-year-old Regalario highlighted his run with a 10-3 quarters win over Chua.
Asis, on the other hand, outlasted Jeffrey Ignacio (10-8) and Raymund Faraon (10-6) in the Last 16 and quarters, respectively.
Meanwhile, rising star Apollo Miranda settled for second place in the competition’s junior category after yielding to crowd favorite Brian Axel Ferdian in the race-to-9 finals clash, 1-9.
