Dennis Orcollo. INQUIRER file photo
Five Filipinos, headed by Dennis Orcollo, made their presence felt in the World 9-ball Championship by barging into the Final 64 Monday night in Doha, Qatar.
Still far from peak form, Orcollo subdued Hosain Sayeem of Bangladesh, 9-6, for a second straight win that was matched by Carlo Biado following a 9-5 conquest of Italian Danielie Corrieri.
Rising stars Jeffrey Ignacio and Raymond Faraon also advanced to the knockout stage following victories over Canadian Jason Klatt (9-6) and Iranian Pordel Mohammadali (9-4).
They were joined by veteran Antonio Gabica, the 2013 World 9-ball runner-up and now coach of the Qatar national team, who beat Fahim Sinha (9-6) of Bangladesh.
The Chinese and the Taiwanese also shone, sending four players each to the knockout elimination stage that starts Wednesday.
The second batch of qualifiers will come from the losers’ bracket, the knockout matches of which are being held Tuesday.
Filipinos still in contention for the 64 slots are Warren Kiamco, Lee Vann Corteza, Johann Chua and Francisco Felicilda.