Orcollo And Pagulayan Reach Guangzhou Semis

2004 World Pool champion Alex Pagulayan and current WPA World No. 1 Dennis Orcollo remain on track for another possible finals encounter as the two Filipinos breezed through to the semifinals after a scoring easy victories over their respective opponents in the quarterfinals of the penultimate leg of the Guinness 9 Ball Tour 2008 yesterday here at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, China.

Pagulayan overwhelmed Satoshi Kawabata of Japan, 9 – 3, while Orcollo manhandled Toh Lian Han of Singapore, 9 – 1.
The two met in the finals of the Singapore leg, where Pagulayan claimed the crown over Orcollo.  The two are already assured of at least $3,500 (P164,500) for reaching the semifinals and have a shot at winning the top prize of $15,000 (P705,000) in the event organized by ESPN STAR Sports.

Clinging on to a 4 – 3 advantage, Pagulayan turned his match into a rout as he won five consecutive racks after capitalizing on several easy misses by Kawabata.

The Japanese missed a shot on the one-ball in the eighth rack and an attempt at the eight-ball in the 10th rack and his Filipino foe easily cleaned up those racks.

With Pagulayan on the hill at 8 – 3, Kawabata failed to put pressure on his opponent as the Japanese’s shot on the two-ball rimmed out of the right corner pocket. The player known as the “Lion” then went for the jugular as he formalized his entry to the semifinals for the second consecutive leg.

“I kind of feel sorry for him (Kawabata) since he’s my friend and he made a lot of mistakes, but when you’re playing against each other you forget about friendships and I just went for the kill,” said Pagulayan.

Pagulayan will meet Hung Hsiang Wang of Chinese Taipei in the semifinals today at 12 noon. The match will be aired live on STAR Sports,

Wang became the first man to earn a ticket to the final four after he upset compatriot and defending Grand Final champion Jung Lin Chang, 9 – 4.

Meanwhile, there was little drama in Orcollo’s match as he claimed the first eight racks and had a golden opportunity to score a whitewash in the ninth rack.

However, the Filipino native flubbed a shot on the four-ball in the ninth rack, allowing the Singaporean to win the rack and avoid being shut out in the match.

Breaking in the 10th rack, Toh had a chance to claim another rack, but the 35 – year old committed a foul on the one-ball and Orcollo closed out the match with a 5 – 9 combination.

“I was very confident and well-conditioned heading into this match. My break was very good this time around and my shots were very precise,” said Orcollo, who needed only 50 minutes to eliminate Toh in the fifth leg of this six-city tour organized by ESPN STAR Sports.    

Orcollo was simply unforgiving as he ran out the table in the first, third and seventh racks and capitalized on Toh’s scratches in the second, fourth and eighth racks and misses in the fifth and sixth racks.

Orcollo will meet Ching Shun Yang of Chinese Taipei in the other semifinals today at 1:30 p.m.
Yang defeated Ryu Seung Woo of Korea, 9 – 5.

Pagulayan and Orcollo’s quarterfinal victories guaranteed them spots in the Grand Final in Jakarta, Indonesia next month. Pagulayan was ranked 6th while Orcollo was 10th in the Tour’s Order of Merit heading into the Guangzhou leg.
Only the top ten players in the Tour’s Order of Merit list will qualify for the lucrative Grand Final and a qualifying spot in the WPA World Pool Championship.

Lion, Robocop lead Pinoys in Guinness 9-Ball in Guangzhou

Singapore leg winner and former World Pool champion Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and reigning world number one Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo are set to lead a five-man Filipino contingent at the penultimate of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour in Guangzhou, China.

A report on BilliardPhilippines.com said that aside from Pagulayan and Orcollo, other Filipino cue masters joining the tournament are Joven Bustamante, Jeffrey de Luna and newcomer Elvis Calasang.

The tour’s second to the last tournament will take place at Guangzhou’s Garden Hotel from September 19 to 21.

The top 10 players in the overall Order of Merit following the Guangzhou leg will earn a trip to Jakarta, Indonesia where the tournament grand finals is slated to take place.

Bustamante is currently ranked fourth while Pagulayan leaped to sixth place following his win in Singapore. Antonio Gabica is ranked seventh, while Orcollo is hanging on to the 10th spot in the Tour's Order of Merit.

Pagulayan earlier emerged victorious in Singapore after beating compatriot Orcollo, 11-6, in the finals of the six-city event. His win in the Lion City marked the first time a Filipino won in the Asian 9-Ball circuit since Efren "Bata" Reyes triumphed in 2006.

The Filipino cue masters are expected to meet tough challenges in China as Chinese Taipei will parade defending Tour champion Chang Jung Lin, 2005 WPA champion Wu Chia Ching, Yang Ching Shun, and Wang Hung Hsiang.

Chang, who topped the year's first three legs, is already assured of the number one spot while Yang and Wu are currently in second and third, respectively. Wang presently ranks fifth.

The rest of the top ten is composed of Korea's Ryu Seung Woo and Malaysia's Ibrahim Bin Amir, who are ranked eighth and ninth, respectively.

Orcollo, Pagulayan battle Taiwan bets in Guinness Tour semis

World no.1 Dennis Orcollo and former world champion Alex Pagulayan will try to arrange another finals showdown when they face separate opponents in the final leg of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour in Guangzhou, China.

The semifinal matches will be played Sunday with Orcollo and Pagulayan facing Chinese-Taipei’s Yang Chin Shun and Wang Hung Hsiang.

Orcollo coasted to a 9-1 win over Singapore’s Toh Lian Han in Saturday’s quarterfinal at the Garden Hotel while Pagulayan, the Singapore leg champion, scored a 9-3 triumph against Satoshi Kawabata of Japan in the other quarterfinal match.

“I was very confident and well-conditioned heading into this match. My break was very good this time around and my shots were very precise," said Orcollo after the 50-minute match.

There is now possible rematch between the Filipinos, who competed for the Singapore leg title won by Pagulayan.

“I kind of feel sorry for him (Kawabata) since he’s my friend and he made a lot of mistakes, but when you’re playing against each other you forget about friendships and I just went for the kill," said Pagulayan after clinching his spot into the next round.

Wang pulled off an upset against compatriot and defending Grand Final champion Chang Jung Lin, 9-4, to earn the first quarterfinal match. Yang earned his right to face Orcollo by downing Ryu Seung Woo of Korea, 9-5.

The entry of Pagulayan and Orcollo into the semifinals earned them guaranteed seats to the Grand Final next month in Jakarta, Indonesia. Pagulayan and Orcollo occupies sixth and 10th places in the Order of Merit going into the Guangzhou leg.

Only the Top 10 players in the Order of Merit are heading to Indonesia.

Three other Filipinos – Joven Bustamante, Jeffrey De Luna and Elvis Calasang – were all eliminated in the group stages on Friday.

Merry Mix in Guangzhou Quarterfinals

It won't be a battle between just two countries anymore as five different nations will be represented when the quarterfinals of the penultimate leg of the Guinness 9 Ball Tour 2008 take place tomorrow at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, China.

Three Taiwanese, two Filipinos, a Singaporean, a Korean and a Japanese make up the quarterfinal cast following today's group stages.

Defending Grand Final champion Jung Lin Chang of Chinese Taipei made his way back to the quarterfinals. Chang, who was unceremoniously booted out by Dennis Orcollo of the Philippines in the group stages of the Singapore leg, topped Group A after victories over China's Dang Jin Hu and Indonesia's Nurdin Abuba.

In a rematch of the Penang leg final, Chang will face countryman Hung Hsiang Wang in the next round at 12 noon tomorrow. Wang ruled Group B after beating local bet Mei Yi Fei and Hong Kong's Han Hao Xiang.

Toh Lian Han gave Singapore fans a lot to cheer about as he barged into the quarterfinals after sweeping his matches in today's group stages  The 35-year old gave Singapore a much - needed breakthrough victory as none of its players reached the quarterfinals in the previous four legs this year.

Up next for Toh's in the quarterfinals is current WPA World No. 1 Orcollo who overcame Chinese-Taipei's Chia-Ching Wu in a nail-biting match. Orcollo rallied down 2 – 5 to prevail over the 2005 WPA world champion 9 – 6 as he capitalized on a number of errors committed by Wu to top Group E. Wu suffered a dry break on the ninth rack, a scratch on the 14th rack and a uncharacteristic miss on the 9 ball in the 15th rack.

Orcollo's fellow Filipino, Alex Pagulayan, also made it past the group stages as he won Group C. Pagulayan, who claimed the Singapore leg, will square off against Satoshi Kawabata of Japan at 4:30 p.m. Kawabata was the winner in Group D.

The final quarterfinal encounter will pit Korea's Ryu Seung Woo against Chinese Taipei's Ching Shun Yang. Ryu ruled Group G while Yang won Group H.

The hometown representatives were not fortunate as the quartet of Mei, Dang, He Wen Li and Jian Bo Fu all failed to advance to the round of eight.

Only the top ten players in the Tour's Order of Merit list will qualify for the lucrative Grand Final in Jakarta next month and a qualifying spot in the WPA World Pool Championship.

Merry Mix in Guangzhou Quarterfinals

It won't be a battle between just two countries anymore as five different nations will be represented when the quarterfinals of the penultimate leg of the Guinness 9 Ball Tour 2008 take place tomorrow at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, China.

Three Taiwanese, two Filipinos, a Singaporean, a Korean and a Japanese make up the quarterfinal cast following today's group stages.

Defending Grand Final champion Jung Lin Chang of Chinese Taipei made his way back to the quarterfinals. Chang, who was unceremoniously booted out by Dennis Orcollo of the Philippines in the group stages of the Singapore leg, topped Group A after victories over China's Dang Jin Hu and Indonesia's Nurdin Abuba.

In a rematch of the Penang leg final, Chang will face countryman Hung Hsiang Wang in the next round at 12 noon tomorrow. Wang ruled Group B after beating local bet Mei Yi Fei and Hong Kong's Han Hao Xiang.

Toh Lian Han gave Singapore fans a lot to cheer about as he barged into the quarterfinals after sweeping his matches in today's group stages  The 35-year old gave Singapore a much - needed breakthrough victory as none of its players reached the quarterfinals in the previous four legs this year.

Up next for Toh's in the quarterfinals is current WPA World No. 1 Orcollo who overcame Chinese-Taipei's Chia-Ching Wu in a nail-biting match. Orcollo rallied down 2 – 5 to prevail over the 2005 WPA world champion 9 – 6 as he capitalized on a number of errors committed by Wu to top Group E. Wu suffered a dry break on the ninth rack, a scratch on the 14th rack and a uncharacteristic miss on the 9 ball in the 15th rack.

Orcollo's fellow Filipino, Alex Pagulayan, also made it past the group stages as he won Group C. Pagulayan, who claimed the Singapore leg, will square off against Satoshi Kawabata of Japan at 4:30 p.m. Kawabata was the winner in Group D.

The final quarterfinal encounter will pit Korea's Ryu Seung Woo against Chinese Taipei's Ching Shun Yang. Ryu ruled Group G while Yang won Group H.

The hometown representatives were not fortunate as the quartet of Mei, Dang, He Wen Li and Jian Bo Fu all failed to advance to the round of eight.

Only the top ten players in the Tour's Order of Merit list will qualify for the lucrative Grand Final in Jakarta next month and a qualifying spot in the WPA World Pool Championship.

ACKDO Supports QC Vs The World Grand Billiards Showdown

The QC-Philippines vs the World Grand Billiards Showdown received another boost with the Association of Clubs, Karaoke and Disco Operators (ACKDO) throwing its all-out support to the much-anticipated event slated December 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City .

With promoting Quezon City as the country’s sports tourism capital, ACKDO did not think twice in backing the project when approached by its chief proponent, City Council Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton.

“We are very happy to be part of this big event. Entertainment is one of the premier tourist attractions here in Quezon City, so we in the industry are giving our all-out support to this project, which in more than one way will also benefit us,” said ACKDO secretary-general Amil Yap.

ACKDO has been supporting a number of sports events, including the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP)'s Search for the New Billiards Idol series.

Also known as the “City of Stars ”, Quezon City boasts of having the biggest and liveliest entertainment spots in the country.

Already home to major television broadcasting networks, including giants ABS-CBN and GMA-7, Quezon City also houses dozens of restaurants, bars, night clubs, massage parlors, KTVs and the likes.

Pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes banners the eight-man Team Q.C.-Philippines, which will pit prowess against a selection of topnotch cue artists from other countries in this three-day competition supported by the Quezon City Government led by Mayor Sonny Belmonte, QC Tourism Council headed by chairman Raffy Chico, and BMPAP with Solar Sports, RPN and the Philippine Star as media partners.

Besides Reyes, the other members of the Team QC Philippines are fellow former world champions Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, reigning world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza and Warren Kiamco.

They will go up against a foreign team also led by three former world titlists in Chia-Ching Wu of Chinese-Taipei, Mika Immonen of Finland and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany. The other players of Team World are 2006 Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata of Japan , Ching-Shun Yang of Chinese-Taipei, and Charlie William and Rodney Morris of the United States and another top European player.

Pagulayan leads RP campaign in Guangzhou leg of 9-ball Tour

Alex Pagulayan will lead a five-member Philippine team that hopes to secure final slots in the Guinness 9-Ball Tour when the penultimate round of the five-city qualifying tournament takes place in Guangzhou, China from September 19 to 21.

Pagulayan will be joined by world no.1 Dennis Orcollo and world no.6 Joven Bustamante, Jeffrey De Luna and Tour newcomer Elvis Calasang as they try to claim enough points in order to earn spots in the Tour’s grand finale to be held next month in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Pagulayan won the Singapore leg in July beating Orcollo, 11-6, in the finals. His victory marked the first time a Filipino won in the Asian 9-Ball Tour since Efren “Bata" Reyes’ triumph in 2006.

Up for grabs in the Guangzhou leg is a total prize purse of US$50,000 (PhP2.25M) as well as points to qualify for the Jakarta finals, which will feature the Top 10 players in the Order of Merit. The winners of each leg will get to earn US$15,000 (PhP0.67M) while the Grand Final Champion will pocket US$36,000 (PhP1.62M).

Only the Top 10 players after the Guangzhou leg will earn tickets for the Grand Finals.

Currently, Bustamante is the highest ranked Filipino player in the Order of Merit at fourth place while Pagulayan is at sixth after winning in Singapore. Antonio Gabica is at seventh while Orcollo is at 10th spot.

Pagulayan and Orcollo barged into the lower half of the top 10 after a 1-2 finish in Singapore. That victory by a Filipino ended the Philippines' title drought.

Players from Chinese-Taipei are the biggest obstacle for the Filipinos with defending Tour champion Chang Jung Lin, 2005 champion Wu Chia Ching, Yang Ching Shun and Wang Hung Hsiang providing the challenge.

Chang, who bagged the year’s first three legs, is already assured of the number one spot while Yang and Wu are in second and third with Wang at fifth.

The rest of the top ten is composed of Korea’s Ryu Seung Woo and Malaysia's Ibrahim Bin Amir at eighth and ninth respectively.

In addition, the Tour’s Top 10 players will also automatically qualify for pool’s most prestigious event, the 2008 World Pool Championships later this year. The Guinness 9-Ball Tour remains the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify for the World Pool Championship.