Orcollo, Pagulayan enter semis in Guinness
Dennis Orcollo and Alex Pagulayan trounced their respective rivals to advance to the semifinal round of the
Orcollo, the reigning world No. 1, subdued Fu Jian Bo of
The victories thus guaranteed the two RP bets $3,500 (P157,500) each for making it to the semis of the annual event organized by ESPN STAR Sports.
Orcollo, who booted out tournament favorite and three-leg winner Chang Jung-Lin of Chinese Taipei. 9-7, in the group stage Friday, took advantage of Fu’s miscues late in the match as he broke away from 6-all to win three straight racks.
Fu had a scratch on the 13th rack then followed it up with a foul shot in the 14th after Orcollo made a dry break in the same rack.
But while Orcollo and Pagulayan advanced, compatriots Joven Bustamante and Antonio Gabica failed to complete what could’ve been a record semis cast involving players from one country as they dropped their respective quarterfinal round matches.
Bustamante bowed to former world 9-ball champion Wu Chia Ching of Taiwan, 4-9, while Gabica succumbed to another Taiwanese ace Yang Ching Shun, 3-9.
“I knew that it was going to be a tough match since I already faced Fu in several international competitions in the past. I wanted to finish the match as soon as I had a chance since I consumed all my allotted extensions,” said Orcollo.
Pagulayan took control of the match early on as he led 4-1 as Nguyen missed in the second and the fourth racks.
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