Gomez rips Davao bet; Valle, Orcollo advance

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Two-time leg champion Roberto Gomez outclassed local bet Reynaldo Lariba Jr., pulling off an easy 9-1 win to lead the early winners at the start of The Manny Villar Cup Kadayawan Leg yesterday at the jampacked Activity Center of the NCCC Mall here.

Gomez, who also won the series’ stop here last year, hardly broke a sweat against Lariba, racing to a 3-0 lead that set the tone for the lopsided first win in this 10th edition of the series presented by Sen. Manny Villar’s Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports.

Lariba, who made it to the main draw via the qualifying tournament Thursday, took the fourth rack, but that was all he could do, as Gomez never gave him any chance again.

“He was under pressure and nervous probably because of the big crowd and I made the most of it ,” said Gomez in Filipino.

He is out on a mission to become the first three-time winner of this event sponsored by Camella Communities.

Villar Cup Cebu leg titlist Gandy Valle was the second to advance into the round-of-16 after the former Asian Games gold medalist subdued Manila qualifier Jundel Mazon, 9-4, to the delight of his fellow Davaoeños.

“It was a tough win. It’s hard playing someone coming from the qualifying round because he’s used to the tough grind and a minor miscue will have a big impact on the outcome of the game,” said Valle, who lost to Gomez in last year’s Kadayawan leg finals.

Valle will next face two-time World Juniors campaigner Rene Mar David, who defeated another local qualifier Danny Trazona, 9-5.

Meanwhile, former world No.1 Dennis Orcollo had to fight back from a three-rack deficit to beat fellow Bugsy bet Richard Pornelosa, 9-7, and keep his bid alive for his first title in this series coorganized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) headed by president Vic Rodriguez.

After pocketing the first two racks, Orcollo ran into a series of lapses that allowed Pornelosa to take five consecutive racks for a 5-2 lead.

But Orcollo, whose best performance in the Villar Cup was a runner-up finish to Valle in Cebu, methodically came back into the game to claim the close win.

“The Villar Cup has been quite elusive but I’m determined to win it this time,” said Orcollo, who will have Gomez as his next opponent.