Dennis ?Robocop? Orcollo, pounced on a costly error by Singaporean Bernard Tey to escape with a 9 ? 7 victory in his opening match in the penultimate leg of the Guinness 9 Ball Tour yesterday at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, China.
On the hill at 8 ? 7, the World No. 1 ranked Orcollo was practically handed the match after Tey bungled his break as the cue ball fell into the right corner pocket for a scratch. Feeling the pressure himself, Orcollo asked for two extensions before cleaning up the rack and clinching the victory in Group E.
?It was all about strength of character. I had to take my time and ask for extensions since it was the last ball and I didn't want to commit a mistake like he (Tey) did,? admitted Orcollo.
Orcollo was scheduled to take on 2005 WPA world champion Wu Chia Ching of Chinese Taipei last night.
The victory improved Orcollo?s chances o advancing to the quarterfinal round and a shot at the $15,000 top prize.
More importantly, the Surigao native boosted his bid to qualify for the lucrative Grand Final in Jakarta, Indonesia next month and a qualifying spot in the WPA World Pool Championship. Only the Top 10 in the Tour's Order of Merit will play in Jakarta next month and Orcollo is currently hanging on to the 10th place in the six-city tour organized by ESPN STAR Sports.
It wasn't all good news for the Philippines though as Tour newcomer Elvis Calasang suffered an embarrassing 9 ? 1 setback to Nitiwat Kanjanasari of Thailand over in Group H.
Singapore leg winner Alex Pagulayan, WPA World No. 6 and Guinness top four player Joven Bustamante and Jeffrey De Luna were still playing as of press time.
Other early winners include defending Guinness 9 Ball champion Chang Jung Lin of Chinese Taipei and local favourite Li He Wen. Chang hardly broke a sweat in disposing hometown bet Dang Jin Hu, 9 ? 4, in Group A while Li averted an upset by nipping Elvin Lean of Malaysia, 9 ? 8.
Up for grabs in the Guangzhou leg is $50,000 and points to qualify for the Grand Final. The winners of each leg will get to earn $15,000 while the Grand Final Champion will pocket $36,000.
