Orcollo gets wild card

World No. 1 Dennis Orcollo gained a wild card berth in next week’s Guinness 9-ball Tour leg in Singapore, bolstering the Philippines’ bid to end the Taiwanese domination of the event.

Fresh from his victory in the Qatar 9-ball Open, Orcollo is tipped to crowd the top Taiwanese bets in the fourth leg of the six-stage series slated July 25-27 at the Velocity@Novena in Singapore.

The other RP bets in the fold are Joven Bustamante, Genting leg runner-up Antonio Gabica, Philippine junior pool champion Jericho Bañares and 2004 World Pool 9-ball titlist and reigning World Pool Masters champion Alex Pagulayan.

“I feel great about joining the Guinness 9-ball Tour again and being ranked world number one definitely added to my self-confidence. At the same time, it gives me pressure because I know that people are watching, and I have to live up to my being world number one,” said Orcollo.

Orcollo previously joined the second leg in Penang, Malaysia, but was ousted in the group stage by Taiwanese rival Yang Ching-Shun.

Defending grand finals champion Chang Jung-Lin of Chinese-Taipei remains the man to beat as he swept the 2008 Tour’s first three legs in Chinese-Taipei, Penang and Genting Highlands.