The World Nineball Tour's daily report recorded the 2026 Philippine Open continuing in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on October 22. Serbia's Aleksa Pecelj beat Justin Bergman 10–2 to reach the last 16. Before his match ended, another result also confirmed his first Mosconi Cup place.
A win on the table and qualification triggered elsewhere
Bergman had come back against previous runner-up Arseni Sevastyanov the day before, but lost this match 10–2. Pecelj said afterward that he had made only a few mistakes and was steady overall. The victory kept him pursuing a first Major title.
Mosconi Cup qualification was settled before the match finished. Pecelj told WNT that he saw Oliver lose elsewhere, realized he had qualified automatically, then looked toward Francisco Sánchez Ruiz and celebrated. WNT confirmed that he would represent Europe next month alongside Sánchez Ruiz and Joshua Filler.
Pecelj had just won the Reyes Cup with Team Rest of the World the previous week and will now play for Europe in the Mosconi Cup. He said qualification had been on his mind all week, and he could finally focus completely on the Philippine Open.
Defending champion and world No. 1 advance
Defending champion David Alcaide beat Skyler Woodward 10–6. Unlike the previous day's 10–9 escape, he started more smoothly, but errors midway allowed his opponent back in. Alcaide told WNT that he lost some confidence late as Woodward returned to the contest, but still secured advancement.
World No. 1 Aloysius Yapp beat Michael Feliciano 10–3 to become the first player into the last 16. He said the cue ball initially slid more and was difficult to control, before safety play helped him through. Shane Van Boening beat John Albert Refulle and Marvin Asis 10–4 in succession, reaching his third Matchroom Major last 16 this year.
Last-16 matchups
| Player | Opponent |
|---|---|
| Aloysius Yapp | Baseth Mocaibat |
| Shane Van Boening | Edwin Dela Cruz Gamas |
| Anton Raga | Jefrey Roda |
| Jayson Shaw | Fedor Gorst |
| Francisco Sánchez Ruiz | Thorsten Hohmann |
| Bernie Regalario | David Alcaide |
| Johann Chua | Aleksa Pecelj |
| Albert Januarta | Carlo Biado |
INKA SPORTS analysis: Qualification settled, but wins are still needed
Pecelj's two rewards were confirmed at different moments. Oliver's defeat settled his Mosconi Cup place first; the 10–2 win then put him into the Philippine Open last 16. That explains the sequence of his mid-match celebration and final victory: when he looked toward Sánchez Ruiz, next month's European place was secure, but that week's advancement remained unfinished.
His stated focus on the current event soon acquired a specific target: Johann Chua in the last 16. In the same round, Mosconi Cup opponents Jayson Shaw and Fedor Gorst meet, while recent Reyes Cup teammates Januarta and Biado compete for one quarter-final place. Relationships from the two team events thus carry into the individual knockout draw.
Conclusion
Day three's clearest change was Pecelj securing a future representative place while preserving his chance of this week's title. The Philippine Open last 16 begins on October 23, with the event running through October 24. Attention returns to the knockout matches, where players must keep converting opportunities into winning racks.
