3-Cushion
LIMA - He came to the Pan Americans to defend the title he won last year. And again the Colombian Pedro González was the best of all in Lima, Peru. The 2018 and 2019 Mister Pan American beat Erick Téllez from Costa Rica in the final 40-33 in 24 innings. The Colombians were shining with four players among the best eight. Pedro González, who plays not so many international tournaments, is the number 31 on the world ranking.
He is on an illustrious list with the European champion Dick Jaspers, the Asian champion Quyet Chien Tran and the African champion Sameh Sidhom. The Pan American winner, for the second year in a row, recorded the best average of the tournament: 1,559. Pedro González matched the record of another two-time Pan-American champion, Alexander Salazar. The best run came in the name of Javier Teran with 17.
Pedro González had to catch up to his fellow countryman Juan José Garciá in the semis to finally win 40-34 in 22 innings. The young ex-junior world champion, Garcia, was the opponent of Juan González in Mexico in last year's Pan-Americans final.
The Pan-American champion is 40 years old and is number two on the ranking in Colombia. He is known for his big talent and discipline when it comes to trainings. He's practicing three to four hours a day at Club 8 in Bogota and teaches other players every morning from 9 to 12.00.
Last week, during a Grand Prix in Colombia, Hugo Patiño beat him in the semi-final. In the Colombian championship, González lost the final last year against Huberney Cataño, this season he finished second ahead of Henry Diaz, his companion at the Pan-American team championships.
On the podium was Juan Carlos del Salto from Ecuador next to González and Tellez. After the tournament, Pedro Gonzalez leads the Pan American ranking, followed by Costa Rican Erick Téllez, another talented guy who played a strong tournament in the Ho Chi Minh World Cup one week ago.
Ramón Rodriguez played a striking tournament: he won his matches in the pre-rounds to 30 points in 9 and 15 innings. Rodriguez was eliminated by Maurizio Gutierrez in the eighth final.
The final ranking of the Pan-Americans:
1. Pedro González 1.559
2. Erick Tellez 1.458
3. José Juan Garcia 1.460
4. Juan C del Salto 1.031
5. Javier Terán 1.236
6. Javier Vera 1.104
7. Alexander Salazar 1.361
8. Mauricio Gutierrez 1.134
9. Ramón Rodriguez 1.378
10. Cristian Hernández 1.013
11. Miguel Torres 1.209
12. Daniel Morales 1.192
13. Guido Sacco 1.132
14. Juan Pablo Sisterna 1.126
15. Cristopher Tévez 1.094
16. Pedro Reyes-Prieto 0.969.
The numbers 1 to 8 are qualified for the World championship in Denmark, November this year.
The Pan American runner-up Erick Tellez from Costa Rica