Orcollo, Kiamco eye all-Pinoy finals

GUANGZHOU—They are both calculating around the pool table.

At one point, because of how the pair sheets were drawn up, they found themselves on adjacent tables, ripping foes just minutes apart to enter the quarterfinals before surviving unyielding opponents to finally reach the semifinals.

But that’s as far as the similarity between Warren Kiamco and Dennis Orcollo goes.

Orcollo is soft-spoken while Kiamco is a younger version of Efren “Bata” Reyes: He speaks freely but, in lieu of the Magician’s humorous quips, Kiamco packs pride-filled angst.

Told that a flayed PH pool team, now down to its fighting few, no longer conjures the same awe and respect like it did before—when the mere presence of Filipino cue artists caused foes to bungle elementary shots—Kiamco agreed.

In these 16th Asian Games where unknowns have knocked off the country’s biggest names, Kiamco said Filipinos are prone to upsets.

But to opponents who think that the remaining pool warriors are now easy prey, Kiamco, in Filipino, issued this warning: “Even if they beat us, they will have to pass through the needle’s eye.”

Taiwanese standout Ko Pin-yi and Korean veteran Jeong Young-hwa, take heed. The two Asian stars stand in the way of the goal Kiamco and Orcollo are eyeing—a gold medal to salve the charred pride of a squad that lost Reyes and Roberto Gomez in 8-ball singles.

And if there’s any doubt that their only goal is to add to the country’s gold medal tally, consider their math in separate interviews after similar nervy 9-8 scores in the quarterfinals.

From the quarterfinals, it takes two wins to win a gold medal.

“If we both win (in the semifinals), the gold is ours right?” Kiamco said.

Orcollo overcame a 6-8 deficit to survive Vietnamese Nguyen Phuc Long. Kiamco went through the same ordeal, coming back from 2-5 down to beat hometown bet Dang Jinhu.

The two, each already assured of a bronze, seek finals slots Thursday morning at the Asian Games Town gym.