GWANGJU – Spaniard Carlos Anguita (28) won the 2012 World Junior championship in his home country, in Los Narejos. He was on the highest podium with among others Myung Woo Cho, the current star player. After a short adventure with the PBA, Anguita opted for a career as a financial consultant in Cartagena. This week, the Spaniard makes his come-back in his first World Cup after his PBA era in South Korea. Anguita got off to a flying start with victories over two Japanese ladies, scoring matches of 3.000 and 2.308 on average, 2.608 overall. That made Anguita the best player on the first day in Gwangju, where the penultimate World Cup of the year kicked off on Monday.
Carlos Anguita is not often seen on the global stage anymore due to his busy job. He played in the World Championships two weeks ago in Antwerp, where he survived the first qualifying round with 1.725 and was then eliminated by Berkay Karakurt 50-32 in 26. Regarding his return to the World Cup in Gwangju, he says: "I prepared well for the two tournaments, the World Championships and the World Cup, because I was able to find time to train in the summer." Billiards, he says, "has always been an important part of my life. Even now. I'll probably still be playing billiards when I'm 80. I've made the choice for a 'normal life' and consider billiards a hobby. It will always be my great love, even though my results in the PBA weren't enough to make a living from my sport."
The best group in Gwajung was the one with Bong Soo Kim and Yeok Geun Jeong, who played each other in the last and deciding match. Kim won 30-29 in 22 innings. Jeong finished second in the group after winning his first match with 2.143 on average.
Carlos Anguita led the rankings after the first day in Gwangju with 4 match points thanks to victories over two Japanese women: against Kaori Yasuma with a 30-2 score in 10 innings and runs of 6 and 9. He also defeated Yuko Nishimoto with a 30-14 score in 13 innings with runs of 10 and a final run of 7.
Other players with high averages were Min Suk Kim with the same average as Anguita, 2.608; TTT Nguyen with a 1.500 score; Chi Yeon Cho, a familiar face at the front, with a 1.463 score; Young Ho Kim and Bong Soo Kim with 1.428, and Jo Yeongyun with 1.395.
The first day of the World Cup in Gangju saw a surprising number of ladies in action.
Bom E Choi (2nd with 1,106)
Yuko Nishimoto (2nd with 0.956)
Claudia Lalinde (2nd with 0.723)
Makiko Inoue (3rd with 0.390)
Saadet Ipek Koyuncuoglu (3rd with 0.348)
Kaori Yasuma (3rd with 0.302).
Min Suk Kim
The best lady, Bom E Choi