...the 2013 World Cup of Pool Champions

Filipinos Corteza and Orcollo capture World Cup of Pool crown

By Bob Guerrero

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By Bob Guerrero

The Passionate Fan

23 September 2013

 

Image courtesy JP Parmentier and Matchroom Sport.

It was messy. It was ugly. It was nerve-racking. And for Pinoy fans from all around the world, it was also beautiful.

The Philippine pair of Dennis Orcollo and Lee Vann Corteza etched their names in Pool history by emerging 10-8 winners over Holland in a sloppy but thrilling final on Sunday at the 888.com World Cup of Pool in London, England. It's the third title for the Philippines in the eight editions of the team 9 Ball event. Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante lifted the cup in 2006 and 2009.
 
The final rack was a tense affair for both the Pinoys and the Dutch team of Niels Feijen and Nick van den Berg.

Leading 9-8, Dennis Orcollo broke dry, and it seemed that the Dutch could force a final-rack decider. But van den Berg muffed a four ball down the rail, ceding the table to the Philippines.

Orcollo played poor position in sinking the seven ball, leaving a difficult thin cut on the eight for Corteza, whose form had been shaky all throughout the final.

But the Davaoeño displayed no nerves at all in draining the shot and leaving his partner with shape on the nine ball. Orcollo knocked it in, sending the dozens of Filipinos at York Hall into rapture.

The last eight ball was fitting redemption for Corteza, who made some uncharacteristic errors in the roller-coaster title match.

"The fans here are why we won" said Orcollo afterwards."There was a lot of pressure and things became very difficult but the Filipino community in London who supported us throughout really helped us through."

The Philippines sprinted to an early 2-0 lead before Holland steadied the ship to lead 3-2. Then the Philippines reeled off five consecutive racks to gain a stranglehold on the match at 7-3, with Holland always finding awkward situations on the table and making mistakes in crucial moments.

Then Lee Vann missed a two ball in rack eleven to permit the Europeans to peg one rack back. In the next rack Corteza again stumbled, completely whiffing a tough but doable jump shot on the eight ball. That allowed the Dutch to pull to within two, 5-7.

Feijen and van den Berg then broke-and-ran out the next two racks to level at 7-7. A weak safety by Orcollo in rack fifteen gave the Dutch yet another opening which they seized for 8-7.

In rack 16 Feijen rattled an awkward but makeable 8 ball to allow the Pinoys first access to the hill at 9-8. The former 14.1 world champ needed to put follow on the long shot to avoid scratching and to get position on the nine, which probably caused him to miss.

That set up the memorable final rack that propelled Corteza and Orcollo into the pantheon of World Cup of Pool champions.

The Philippines reached the final thanks to a superb 9-7 semifinal win against Chinese Taipei stars Chang Jung Lin and Ko Pin Yi. Like the final, the Philippines put up a big lead, 7-2, before the Formosans found their groove and reeled off five racks in a row, the last four break-and-run-outs, to knot the match at 7-7.

Orcollo and Corteza then took the last two racks to secure a finals berth.

Holland booked their finals ticket with a 9-4 win over defending champs Finland. Mika Immonen and Petri Makkonen will be pleased that they won eight straight matches in this event dating from last year.

The Philippine duo will split the US$60,000 top prize while the Dutch settle for US$30,000. The victory should help erase the memory of Orcollo's last final appearance in the WCOP, in 2010, when he and Roberto Gomez were upset by China's Li He Wen and Fu Jian Bo 10-5 in Manila.

This year the Philippines bounced Croatia 7-4 in the first round, then defeated Singapore 7-3 before downing Hungary 9-1 in the quarterfinals.

The win extends a terrific year for both Pinoys. Orcollo recently won the US Open One Pocket championship while Corteza triumphed in the 2013 China Open.

 

...the Louisiana pool champion

Alcano bags Louisiana pool crown

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Monday, October 22nd, 2012
 

Filipino Ronato Alcano ruled the Championship Cloth 5th Annual Pro Classic at the expense of Robb Saez, 11-7, on Sunday (Monday in Manila) in New Iberia, Louisiana.

 

After dropping his first match straight from the airport, Alcano racked up eight wins to annex the title in the international ranking points tournament.

Saez posted a tight 9-8 win over Adam Smith, then ran roughshod over Wang Can, 9-3, and Charlie Williams, 9-2, to arrange the showdown with Alcano, the 2006 World 9-ball and 2007 World 8-ball champion.

Alcano bested compatriot Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Israel Rota, Mike Davis, Can, Ralph Eckert and WiIlliams in succession.

The score was tied at 5-5 in the finals and Saez was in the process of a runout in the 11th rack when Alcano protested that Saez did not call a shot.

This turned the tide of the match and Saez was unable to regain control.

The American champion Shane Van Boening sponsored Alcano, who also knocked him out, in this event. Roy Luarca

...the KL 9-ball Champ

Corteza bags Kuala Lumpur 9-ball title

By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

The Philippines’ Lee Van Corteza subdued Chinese-Taipei’s Ko Pin-chung, 13-8, on Sunday to win the Malaysian Golden Break 9-Ball Asian Invitational tournament at the Golden Break Snooker and Pool Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Corteza showed his class in the semifinals with an effortless 45-minute 11-1 thrashing  of Indonesia’s Riyan Setiawan, setting up a showdown with Ko, who beat his elder brother Ko Pin-yi in the other semifinal duel, 11-7.

It was Ko’s second consecutive finals appearance and also his second crushing defeat after losing to Malaysia’s Ibrahim Amir last year.

The semifinals clash between the brothers was neck-and-neck in the first few racks before Ping Chung raced to leads of 7-4 and 10-6.

Requiring just one more rack to win and enter the finals, Ko felt the pressure as Pin Yi won the 17th rack to move to within 10-7.

But Ko settled down to reel off rack No. 18 and book a place in the finals against Corteza, the 2010 US Open 10-Ball champion.

Living up to his favorite’s tag, the 32-year-old Corteza showed superior form in the semifinals.

Corteza, a four-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, raced to a 9-0 lead against Setiawan, leaving the Indonesian helplessly seated in his chair.

Finally, Corteza committed an error in the 10th rack, giving Setiawan a chance to get to the table and clinch one rack.

That was all Corteza, spearhead of Negros Billiards Stable of Jonathan Sy, would concede as he took the next two racks to wrap up the match and bag the $7,000 top purse plus trophy. Ko Pin-chung received $3,500.

Three other Filipinos, Rodolfo Luat, Antonio Lining and Allan Cuartero, who represented Kuwait, were eliminated in the early rounds.

...the World 9-Ball finalist

Alcano settles for 2nd place in World 9-Ball

abs-cbnNEWS.com

07/02/2011

MANILA, Philippines – Two-time billiards world champion Ronato "Volcano" Alcano of the Philippines lost his bid for a third title after being outplayed by Japanese Yukio Akakariyama in the finals of the 2011 World 9-Ball Championship.

Akakariyama outsteadied Alcano in a thrilling duel, 13-11, before a partisan crowd at the Al Sadd Sports Club in Doha, Qatar.

Ranked No. 2 in the world, Alcano made his way to the finals by edging fellow Filipino Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo, 11-9, in an all-Filipino semifinal showdown.

Alcano, a former World 9-Ball and World 8-Ball titlist, received the runner-up prize of $18,000.
Akakariyama pocketed the title and the $36,000 top purse that goes with it.

Semi-finalists Orcollo and Mark Gray, meanwhile, both went home with $10,000 each. – By Marlon Bernardino

...the cueball Masters

A record 17 Pinoys through to last 64 in world 9 ball

 

Photo by Sid Ventura

Talk about a show of force.

The Philippines showed why it is one of the greatest pool-playing nations in the world when Filipino cue players accounted for 17 of the 64 players left in World 9 Ball Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Antonio Gabica, Caneda Villamor, Roberto Gomez, Venancio Tanio, Joven Alba, Israel Rota, Lee Van Corteza, Ronnie Alcano, and Raymond Faraon all won their do-or-die matches in the losers' bracket yesterday to advance to the knockout stage that reels off today with the round of 64.

The nine survivors join Dennis Orcullo, Django Bustamante, Efren "Bata" Reyes, Carlo Biado, Oliver Medenilla, Jeff De Luna, Allan Cuartero and Antonio Lining, who earlier advanced outright after winning their first two group stage matches.

The lone casualty among the 18 Pinoys seeing action in Doha was qualifier Francisco Olita, who dropped a heartbreaking 8-9 knockout match to Soheil Vahedi of Iran. Were it not for that close loss, the Philippines would have gone a perfect 18-for-18 after the group stage.

Photo by Sid Ventura

Nonetheless, accounting for 17 out of the final 64 is still a very impressive — and unprecedented - feat.

Longtime pool sportswriter Ted Lerner said in his World Pool Association column that he was pretty sure this was a record for a single country in the world pool championships.

But the hard part begins today as the knockout matches get going, and already, the 17 Filipinos are sure to be reduced to 16 after Medenilla and Corteza drew each other in the upper portion of the round of 64 bracket.

In the same upper half of the bracket, Tanio faces the Netherlands' Nick van den Berg, Biado tangles with Iran's Takhti Zarekani, Gabica squares off against 2001 champ Mika Immonen, Cuartero battles Ahmad Taufiq Murni, and Alba plays Chinese Taipei's Chang Jun Lin.

In the lower half, Alcano is pitted against Chris Orme, Rota battles Chang Yu Lun, Lining plays perennial contender Oliver Ortmann of Germany, Orcullo faces Indonesia's Muhammad Zulfikri, Reyes locks horns with Carlos Cabello, Bustamante battles Sascha-Andrej Tege, De Luna plays Fu Che Wei, Gomez faces the man who beat him in the 2007 championship match, Daryl Peach, and Faraon takes on Stephan Cohen.

Photo by Sid Ventura

Should Orcullo and Reyes hurdle their respective opponents, they will face each other in the round of 32. De Luna and Gomez are also on a collision course in the next round if they win today.

Other contenders who advanced include Niels Feijen of the Netherlands, American Shane Van Boening, England's Darren Appleton, last year's runner-up Kuo Po Cheng of Chinese Taipei, and Germany's Thorsten Hohmann and Ralf Souquet.

In the tournament's biggest shocker so far, Mariusz Skoneczy of Poland ousted former champion Wu Jiaqing of China, 9-8, after Wu incredibly missed an extremely easy shot on the 8 ball in the deciding 17^th rack.

...the world's no.1

On top of the world: Lining now No 1 player

 

REY JOBLE, GMA News

04/12/2011 |

Antonio Lining of the Philippines is now the world’s No.1 player.

The grizzled veteran attained this status following his solid showing in the just-concluded Philippine Open Pool Championship at the SM Megamall.

Lining’s ascension to No.1 was confirmed by no less than Ian Anderson, the president of the World Pool-Billiard Association.

“For making it to the semifinal round, Lining is expected to overtake Francisco 'Django' Bustamante as the world’s No.1 player," Anderson told sportswriters during the last day of the event.

According to Anderson, the champion of the Philippine Open will get 500 ranking points. The second placer will get 400, while the semifinalists are likely to get around 320 to 300.

Lining, part of the Philippine men’s doubles team that won the gold medal in the 2002 Busan Asian Games along with Bustamante, is expected to gain at least 300 points.

Prior to this latest campaign, Lining had a total of 1210 points, only 82 points behind Bustamanate, who didn’t play in the WPA event.

Lining’s climb to the top spot came even after he lost badly to eventual runner-up Ralf Souquet of Germany, 9-0, in their crossover semifinals match.

“First time ko yung maging No.1. Sayang nga lang medyo hindi tayo pinalad sa Philippine Open. Nangyayari talaga yung ganung klaseng talo," said Lining, referring to the wipe-out he suffered against Souquet.

Lining has been a consistent performer the past few years. He also made it as far as the semifinal round of the World Ten Ball Championship in 2009 in Manila and the World 9-Ball Championship in Qatar last year, apart from finishing in the top five of the 2010 China Open and World 8-Ball this year.

Orcullo, the newly-crowned World 8-Ball champion, made it as far as the quarterfinal round, and is thus also expected to surpass Bustamante and end up as No. 2.

The former World No.1 player who's considered as one of the best money-game players in the pool circuit had 1080 points, 212 points behind Bustamante.

Meanwhile, Anderson announced that the WPA is going to hold a three-day tournament in the Philippines before the start of the World Ten Ball Championship.

“We have no name for the tournament at this time, but we simply call it as a gap tournament," said Anderson. “It will be held at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City."

The Star Billiards Center is home to the qualifying events for the Philippine Open and the World Ten Ball Championship.

The “gap tournament" will be held after the Beijing Open, another ranking tour event which will see the participation of the world’s best players.

“This will be good because after Beijing, they will be back in Manila, so we are preparing for some sort of a short tournament that can be a fitting preparation for the World Ten Ball Championship," added Anderson.

The World Ten Ball Championship is slated May 9-15 at the World Trade Center in Manila. The qualifying stage matches will be on May 3-7 at the Star Billiards. - KY, GMA News

...the champion eliminator

PH’s Banares eliminates vs 10-Ball champ Immonen

abs-cbnNEWS.com

04/09/2011

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino billiards player Jerico Banares showed reigning World 10-Ball champion Mika Immonen the exit door in the Philippine Open Pool Championships after the Finland player suffered a 7-9 upset loss on Saturday.

“Medyo binuwenas ako, magaganda rin 'yung break niya kaso hindi bumebenta,” said Banares shortly after their game at the SM Megamall.

A scratch off the break in the 16th rack, proved to be costly for Immonen as Banares immediately took advantage by running out the remaining balls en route to his win.

It was Immonen’s second loss in the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) event.
Immonen suffered a 6-9 defeat in the hands of Chinese player, Li Wen Lo, during the first day of the competition.

Alcano vs Al Yousuf

Meanwhile, double world champion Ronnie Alcano also got eliminated after suffering a 9-4 beating from Kuwait’s Abdullah Al Yousuf.
Al Yousuf quickly piled a 5-0 lea
d before Alcano got his groove to take the next 3 racks.

The Kuwaiti bet bounced back to push his lead to 6-3 before both players were given a short break.
After the break, Al Yousuf got 2 of the next 3 racks.

Alcano survived on the 12th rack by engaging the Kuwaiti to a battle of safeties. He eventually cleaned up the table to trail 8-4.

He, however, scratched off the break in the next rack, allowing Al Yousuf to run out the remaining balls for the 9-4 win.

Prior to his defeat to Yousuf, the former World 9-Ball and World 8-Ball champion Alcano lost to Korea’s Hwang Yong, 4-9.

Manalo, De Luna

Two other notable Filipino players – Jeff de Luna and Marlon Manalo – also got the boot in the tournament.
De Luna lost his match to Nguyen Puc Long of Vietnam, 6-9, while Manalo dropped a 3-9 loss to fellow Filipino Carlo Biado. -- By Marlon Bernardino

...the pool David

PHL's David slays Taiwanese Goliath in pool championship

REY JOBLE, GMA News

04/02/2011

The Philippines’ latest version of David has slain a Goliath in former World Pool Championship runner-up Pei Wei Chang.

Renemar David, twice a representative of the country in the World Junior Championship, wielded the upset ax on his more illustrious opponent to win the Qualifier 5 of the Philippine Open Pool Championship on Saturday at the Star Billiards Center.

David stunned Pei, 9-5, to advance to the next phase of the tournament.

David is the third Filipino player to make it to the main draw via the qualifying stage. On Friday, Jundel Mazon and Roberto Gomez clinched a berth in the Stage 2 of this event where current and former world champions are already seeded and set to see action from April 7 to 11 at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

The 21-year-old pride of Candon, Ilocos Sur, dictated the tempo of the match early, racing to a 3-0 lead. He had a chance to make it four in a row, but his last attempt on ball No. 10 in the fourth rack went out of the table.

That enabled Pei, runner-up to eventual champion Alex Pagulayan in the 2004 World Pool Championship, to make it to the scoring column. The Taiwanese cue artist made a fitting follow-up to stay within striking distance, 2-3.

Then came another big run from David.

The player regarded as one of the only few young players to deal legendary pool player Efren “Bata" Reyes a sound beating, won the next five racks to move comfortably ahead, 7-3.

David had a dry break in the 11th rack then both players got contented in safety exchanges. A miscalculated safety shot by the Filipino exposed ball No.4 for Pei, who cleaned up the table.

Pei had a dry break in the next rack, but got another chance when David missed the No. 6 at the corner, allowing his opponent to get back to the table. The Taiwanese bet wasted no time and closed in at 5-7.

But Pei bungled two crucial easy shots that could have pushed him back into the game. A missed on the No.3 at the corner allowed David to take his turn and clean up the table for an 8-5 lead.

David sank ball No.1 off a break in the 14th rack. He miscalculated the cue ball while preparing for the No.6 and needed to take a jump shot. Luckily, the No.6 went partially covered by No.9 and Pei was forced to take a bank shot for a 6 and 10 combo. The shot went unsuccessful and the Filipino dispatched the remaining ball and formalized his entry to the Stage 2 event.

"Suwerte lang ako dahil naunahan ko siya. Kung naging dikit yung laban, mahihirapan ako," said David. "Medyo masama rin yung laro niya dahil marami siyang sinablay na tira."

David's road to winning the Qualifier No. 5 didn't come easy as he needed to hurdle five foreign competitors. He beat Indonesian Sahroni, crack Chinese player Wang Ming, Lim Leng of Vietnam and Johari of Indonesia. - GMA News