Ronato (Ronnie) Alcano (pronounced al-kah-no) (born 27 July 1972 in Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines), is a Filipino professional pool player, nicknamed "Ronnie Calamba" and "the Volcano".
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After graduating in elementary school, Alcano didn't proceed to high school due to financial problems. He then opted to play pool for a living.
Alcano's recognitions in the Philippines begin with his performances at the 2000 Rising Stars Tournament. By the final, he was highly favored to win the title, yet in the final match (a <dfn style="border-bottom:1px dotted #0645AD; font-style:inherit;">race</dfn> to 13), Alcano lost to Edgar Acaba by just a rack short, 13-12. Despite having a 12-7 advantage, Alcano missed while only three balls away. Acaba then returned to the table and won the needed 6 racks in a row to win the match and the title.
In 2002, Alcano began to make a name for himself, and began competing in major events in the US. He won five tournaments in the Joss Tour and was awarded Rookie of the Year for 2002 by azbilliards.com.
Alcano returned to the East, for the 2005 WPA Asian Nine-ball Tour, winning the Manila tournament (11-6 versus Yang Ching-shun), and qualifying for the world championship.[1]
Coming in as an underdog, Alcano upset German Ralf Souquet in the finals, 17 to 11 at the 2006 WPA Men's World Nine-ball Championship. ESPN commentator Gerry Forsyth said, "the only way to stop Alcano is to put a rattlesnake in his pocket, then ask him for a match" about Alcano's performance. He thus became the second Filipino (excluding 2004 winner Alex Pagulayan, as he represented Canada at that time) to become World Champion in this event after Efren Reyes won the title in 1999. In the November 2006 tournament, Alcano had been on the brink of elimination in group play before taking advantage of a soft break. He won just 1 of 3 group matches and scraped through as the 64th and final seed. Alcano then defeated local favorite Reyes and defending champion Wu Chia-ching in the knockout stages, proceeding to the final. For winning the tournament, Alcano won US$100,000 which is the largest first prize ever won in the world nine-ball championship.
In 2007, Alcano won the WPA World Eight-ball Championship by defeating his compatriot Dennis Orcollo in the final match 11-8.
On 16 September 2007, Alcano finished second to Antonio Gabica in the Philippine Nine-ball Open.
In an attempt to defend his title at the 2007 World Nine-ball Championship, Alcano was bested in the last 64 by Daryl Peach of the United Kingdom who ultimately won the title.
On 11 December 2007, Ronato Alcano won the Philippines' 31st gold medal in the 24th Southeast Asian Games Men’s 8-Ball Pool Singles at the Sima Thani Hotel Grand Ballroom.[2]
On 25 April 2008, Ronnie Alcano lost his title at the World 8-Ball Championships in Fujairah City, United Arab Emirates. Germany's Ralf Souquet won the $ 60,000 championship prize, 13-9 final score.[3]
On 26 October 2008, Alcano lost to Mika Immonen in the $250,000 33rd US Open Nine-ball Championship, where 237 billiards players competed in Chesapeake, Virginia. Mika claimed the 13-7 victory against Alcano, who settled for $20,000.[4][5][6]
During his early days of competing in the Philippines, Alcano was nicknamed "Calamba" which is a reference to his hometown in the country (see above). But when he started participating in US-based tournaments, some commentators mispronounce his last name as al-kay-no. Thus, the nickname "Volcano" was addressed.
Alcano was charged on 12 July 2007 with rape of his 14-year-old daughter and with violation of the Anti-Child Abuse Law (Section 5 of Republic Act 7610) before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. The case was filed after Assistant City Prosecutor Corazon Romano who recommended a total bail of P400,000 ($8,743) for both charges. Alcano denied the allegations, saying the girl was only after his money. He filed a perjury case against his daughter and her mother. But judge Fiscal Romano found in favor of his child. Alcano’s daughter alleged three incidents of sexual assault of a minor happened on 25 November 2006 and on the first week of December 2006. She alleged that Alcano touched her private parts, made lewd gestures in front of her, and put his hand on her private parts while they were lying on the bed with Gwendolyn, Alcano's partner.[7] On 23 July 2007, Alcano posted a bail bond of P80,000 – 20 percent of the initial bail recommendation.[7]
| Preceded by Wu Chia-ching |
WPA World Nine-ball Champion 2006 |
Succeeded by Daryl Peach |
| WPA World Eight-ball Champion 2007 |
Succeeded by Ralf Souquet |
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