Despite a remarkable effort, Ma Minh Cam was unable to claim the championship in stage 7 of the PBA Tour 2025-2026.

Top Vietnamese player Ma Minh Cam was defeated 2-4 by Spanish star Daniel Sanchez in the final of stage 7 of the Korean professional carom 3-cushion billiards tournament (PBA) for the 2025-2026 season.

Before entering the final, Ma Minh Cam’s average score was just 1.3. Facing one of the world’s finest carom 3-cushion players, he delivered over 100% effort, reaching an average of 1.9 after 6 sets.

However, the Vietnamese player was unable to win a PBA stage title for the second time as he did in 2022. Daniel Sanchez started very strong with shots as precise as a machine, while Ma Minh Cam had an unsatisfactory beginning in sets 1 and 2, losing heavily 6-15 and 4-15 respectively.

Despite being at a major disadvantage (the match is played over a maximum of 7 sets, with the first to win 4 sets declared the winner) and trailing 0-2 against the Spanish player, Ma Minh Cam played superbly in the next three sets. Unfortunately, he lacked a bit of courage and luck in the final critical shots, allowing Daniel Sanchez to come back and win despite Ma Minh Cam being close to victory.

In set 3, Ma Minh Cam played outstandingly with perfect shots and defeated Daniel Sanchez 15-7. In set 4, he continued to shine, leading 14-12 and needing just one more point to even the score at 2-2, but the player born in 1975 failed to close the set, allowing Daniel Sanchez to score consecutively and win 15-14, taking a 3-1 lead.

In set 5, Ma Minh Cam played well again, taking a 14-11 lead over Daniel Sanchez. Even though the Spanish player managed to tie the score at 14-14, Ma Minh Cam successfully sealed the deciding point, winning 15-14 and reducing the final match score to 2-3.

Unfortunately, in the decisive set, Ma Minh Cam could not keep up his high performance. While Daniel Sanchez continued to deliver precise shots like clockwork, the Vietnamese player’s shots were somewhat lacking in power or accuracy, allowing Daniel Sanchez to widen the points gap and win decisively 15-4, thus winning the match 4-2 overall and claiming the stage 7 championship of the PBA Tour 2025-2026, with Ma Minh Cam finishing as the runner-up.