Money man says Asiad gold priceless

GUANGZHOU – Former world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo got the better breaks and picked up a 9-7 victory over compatriot Warren Kiamco in a friendly match completing a 1-2 finish by the Philippines in an anti-climactic finale of the 9-ball event of the Asian Games billiards competitions yesterday.

A lean crowd that included members of the billiards team gave the two Filipinos a mild applause in the Asian Games Town billiards hall where Marlon Manalo was still playing a losing match against a Chinese Taipei player in a nearby snooker table.

“This is the biggest achievement I have so far,” said the jubilant Orcollo moments after he received the gold medal from chef de mission Joey Romasanta at the close of the billiards competitions.

“I have made money in many billiards tournaments, but this is special because it is for my country,” added Orcollo, long regarded as the sport’s top money man.

Save for some safety shots Orcollo and Kiamco demonstrated before a hushed motley crowd, the games before the finals provided more excitement and jitters as the two Filipinos disposed of their opponents from the round of 16 on their way to an all-Filipino confrontation.

“My quarterfinal match with the Vietnamese was by far the most difficult because I had to rally from a 3-7 deficit to win game,” said Orcollo. “Since Day 1 when our top players Bata Reyes and Roberto Gomez lost in 8-Ball we were a bit discouraged but coach Django (Bustamante) told us to keep our focus, and we will win.”

“I have had tense moments in my previous matches. May kasamang dasal din ang mga panalo namin (Our wins came with prayers),” said Orcollo.

Orcollo came into the tournament fresh from his conquests in the World Pool Masters, Pool Predators Championship and money games here and abroad, but said the Asian Games poses an entirely different challenge because it is a knockout competition.

“You have to be focused every game, or you are out,” said Orcollo.

With a possible all-Filipino gold-medal in the offing, Orcollo and Kiamco put in the best they could in the semifinals to outfight their Taiwanese and Korean opponents.

When Kiamco closed out with a 9-7 win over Chinese Taipei’s Ko Pin Yi and Orcollo swept past Korean Jeong Young Hwa, 9-3, in the morning, the Filipino camp exploded in early celebration that made the final match more of a friendly, non-bearing match that has pride and honor at stake.

Orcollo easily dispatched the Korean in an early morning meeting, but, for a while, it looked like the Taiwanese would deny them an all-Filipino show when he reduced Kiamco’s 8-6 lead to just one with a jump shot that saw the cue ball fly over two balls. The cue ball barely kissed the 2-ball and sent it to the pocket.

The shot came from a good safety shot which the crowd thought would also force the Taiwanese to make a similar safety shot.

The Taiwanese, like what he does in difficult situations, made the next-to-impossible shot that sent the crowd to its feet.

That hardly unnerved Kiamco as he cleaned the table on his break in the final rack.

Kiamco, the 2002 Asian Games silver medalist, outfought Surethan Phoochalam of Thailand, 9-5, in the preliminaries, Lee Chen Man, 9-3, in the Last 16 and Dang Jinhu of China, 9-8, in the quarterfinals to advance the semifinal medal round.

In the lower half of the draw, Orcollo, the world 8-Ball runner-up in 2007 and 2008, ousted Purevsuren Okkhuu of Mongolia, 9-2, Masakai Tanka of Japan, 9-4, Nguyen Phuc Long of Vietnam, 9-8, to reach the semifinal round.