Orcollo falls; Corteza 2 other PH bets advance

The unexpected fall of defending champion Dennis Orcollo in the round of 32 marred the Philippine campaign in the 2012 World 8-Ball Championship in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday night.

Shut out in the first five racks, Orcollo bowed to Karol Skowerski, 3-9 in the knockout stage after earlier hurdling Nasser Al Mujaibel of Kuwait in the Round of 64.

Left to carry the fight for the Filipinos were Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado and Roberto Gomez, who hurdled their first assignments in the main draw.

Corteza, the two-time national champion and stalwart of the Negros Billiards Stable, trounced Lee Chen-man of Hong Kong, 9-2, to stay in contention for the $20,000 top purse.

Biado, the pride of La Union, ousted compatriot Elmer Haya, 9-2, while Zamboanga City ace Gomez thwarted Mario He of Austria, 9-4.

In the round of 32, Corteza will battle Vietnamese Nguyen Phoc Luong, who nipped Amin Fekry of UAE, 9-8.

Next up for Biado is Japan’s Toru Kuribayashi, who edged Tomasz Kaplan of Poland, 9-7; while Gomez will face Great Britain’s Mark Gray, who crushed Iran’s Maghsoud Ali, 9-3.

The 28-year-old Skowerski stormed ahead, 5-0, in the race to 9, alternate break format and kept his poise even when Orcollo began a fight back.