Orcollo trips Immonen, cops Predator crown

MANILA, Philippines - Dennis Orcollo outwitted Mika Immonen in a battle of safeties then pounced on the ace Finnish’s costly scratch in the 17th rack to pound out a 10-8 victory and capture the Predator International 10-Ball Championship crown at the Robinson’s Galleria in Ortigas last night.

Orcollo, who dominated his rivals to get another crack at the crown he won two years ago in Las Vegas, trailed Immonen at 7-8 but took the 16th rack to draw level. They battled through a series of safety shots in the 17th until Immonen miscalculated his shot and made a scratch while trying to knock down the black 8.

Orcollo took the pivotal rack then scored a break-and-run in the next to complete his fightback from an opening game setback to clinch the crown.

Before sinking the final ball, the Filipino world No. 1 waved his right hand in triumph to the cheers of the appreciative crowd.

The win was worth $10,000 for Orcollo, who lost to German ace Ralf Souquet in the finals of the World Pool Masters recently.

Earlier, Orcollo flashed top form and clobbered Taiwanese Wu Jia Qing, 10-5, in the semis while Immonen edged Liu Haitao of China, 10-9.

Against Wu, Orcollo raced to 5-1 and 8-5 leads en route to beating the former world 8-ball and 9-ball champion in the race-to-10, winner’s break format.

Wu missed on the black 8 in the 15th rack, enabling Orcollo to clean up the table and move in the championship against Immonen.

Wu succumbed to pressure early as flubbed on the orange 5 in the fifth frame, allowing Orcollo to seize a 4-1 lead. A 2-10 combination in the sixth frame upped the Filipino’s lead to four but Wu cashed in on Orcollo’s safety shot in the seventh frame to win the race only to yield the next with a dry break.

Orcollo then completed a break-and-run in the ninth to take a commanding 7-2 lead but Wu fought back by winning the next two racks.

He, however, made a scratch in the 12th as Orcollo took an 8-4 lead en route to victory.

On his way to the finals, Orcollo bested fellow Filipinos Jundel Mazon, 10-2, in the Last 16 and Rami Gallego, 10-3, in the quarters while Wu frustrated local favorite Efren “Bata” Reyes, 10-9.