Orcollo rules Hard Times 10-ball

Dennis Orcollo showcased his versatility once again by downing American Shane Van Boening, 9-3, in the finals and ruling the 3rd Annual Hard Times 10-Ball Open at the Hard Times Billiards Sunday night (Monday morning in Manila) in Bellflower, California.

The 33-year-old Orcollo, the 2011 world 8-ball champion as well as the 2010 Asian Games 9-ball king, thus stretched the Filipinos’ dominance of the event won by Lee Vann Corteza in 2010 and Alex Pagulayan in 2011.

It was no cruise for the top player of Bugsy Promotions as he had to climb from the losers’ bracket, yielding to Louis Ulrich, 5-9, in the third round of the winner’s break event.

Once he got his bearing, however, Orcollo notched successive victories over  Ernesto Dominguez, Ramin Bakhtiar, compatriot Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Rodney Morris, Corey Harper in the quarterfinals and Max Eberle in the semifinals.

Renowned as a money-game shark, Orcollo won a total of $8,000 in the $5,000-added tournament at the expense of Boening, currently billiards’ top earner.

“I got my confidence after winning against Max (Eberle),” said Orcollo, the  Philippine Sportswriter Association Athlete of the Year, in Filipino.

“I’ve hoped and prayed hard to win this crown for my countrymen as well as my boss Perry and Verna (Mariano) who have been helping me compete abroad.”

It was Orcollo’s first major title this year after winning the gold medal in the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia. Roy Luarca