3 Pinoys make world pool’s Top 10 rankings

MANILA, Philippines - Three Filipinos, led by former world champion Dennis Orcollo, finished in the Top 10 of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) yearend rankings.

Orcollo ranked fifth among the men’s players with 11,525 points while Carlo Biado (10,135) landed No. 7 and fast-rising Johann Chua (9,330) wound up ninth overall.

Surigao pride Orcollo boosted his stock by placing second in the US Open, third in the Manny Pacquiao Cup 10-ball, fifth in the World Cup of Pool and ninth in both the World Pool Masters and the China Open.

Top lady player Rubilen Amit was the lone Pinay in the upper echelons of the distaff side, occupying No. 7 with 7,490 points. Amit reached the semis of the Amwy Espring World Open and placed fifth in the China Open women’s division and was 17th in the World 9-ball Championship.

Orcollo likewise emerged as the top moneymaker among the Pinoy cuemasters, raking in $90,575 the whole year, according to the computation of billiard website Azbilliards.com.

Orcollo, who won $20,000 for topping the DCC Master of the Table and $15,000 for the runner-up finish at the US Open, finished third overall in the site’s Money Leaderboard behind Shane van Boening ($178,960) and Darren Appleton ($118, 824).

Biado ensured his position in the elite of the WPA rankings by taking third place in the China Open and fifth in the World 9-ball championship while Chua, a relative unknown, announced his entry into the international scene by finishing a strong fifth in the world 9-ball and reaching the Last-8 of the All-Japan tourney.

Like Chua, little-known Pinoy Raymund Faraon vaulted into the picture by ruling the All-Japan tilt, placing ninth in the World 9-ball and fifth in the US Open to grab 13th spot in the world rankings with 7,700 points.

Veteran Warren Kiamco, who wound up fifth in the US Open, occupied 18th spot with 7,350 points while two other new faces from Phl – Jeffrey Ignacio and Elmer Haya – ended 19th and 25th, respectively. Ignacio collared second place in the China Open and made the quarterfinals of the All-Japan meet to post 7,250 points while Haya, a semifinalist in the world 9-ball, tallied 6,400 points.

World 9-ball champ Niels Feijen of the Netherlands took top spot with 15,230 points followed by Chang Yu Lung of Taipei (15,175), Van Boening of the US (14,600), Li Hewen of China (12,255), and Orcollo.

Filipino legend Efren “Bata” Reyes, despite non-participation in WPA tourneys, had a productive year, in terms of earning.

The website Azbilliards.com listed Reyes as the sixth top earner in 2014 with $67,000. “The Magician” netted $25,000 in winning the Smokin Aces One Pocket Shootout and $13,000 in the Manny Pacquiao Cup, and $12,000 in the DCC 2014 1P division, among others.

Reyes’ buddy Francisco “Django” Bustamante got $46,464 from various tournaments in 2014 to finish 12th in the money list.