BY: MARLON BERNARDINO
FILIPINOS Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan and Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo cruised in the semifinals after they finished in the top two of Group A in the preliminary round of the Guinness 9 Ball Tour 2008 Grand Final yesterday at the Mal Taman Anggrek in Bali, Indonesia.
Orcollo, the reigning WPA world number one was still playing defending Grand Final champion Chang Jung Lin of Chinese Taipei as of press time, but his three wins on Friday coupled with Pagulayan's wins over Wang Hung Hsiang of Chinese Taipei and Ryu Seung Woo of Korea yesterday, clinched spots in the last four for the two Filipino aces.
Orcollo, who hails from Bislig, Surigao del Sur who won the previous leg in Guangzhou, China, swept all three of his assignments on Friday. Orcollo native opened his bid with a 9 – 7 triumph of Pagulayan then followed it up with demolishing over Wang, 9 – 8, and Ryu, 9 – 5.
Pagulayan, who ruled the Singapore leg, bounced back from his setback against Orcollo with a relatively easy 9 – 5 victory over Chang late Friday evening. The 2004 World Pool champion barged into the semi-finals after edging Wang, 9 – 8, and routing Ryu, 9 - 2. Chang's two losses to Pagulayan and Orcollo eliminated the defending champion.
Eleven players were divided into two groups and players played in a single round robin format. The top two players from each group advanced to the semi-finals with the final two meeting in the final match tomorrow.
The champion will earn the top prize of US$36,000. Orcollo and Pagulayan are already assured of at least $5,400 for reaching the semi-finals of the six-city tour organized by ESPN STAR Sports.
The Top Ten of the Tour's Order of Merit following the first five legs automatically qualified for the Grand Final. An additional wild card spot was awarded to Ricky Yang as he was the host country's top ranked player.
Meanwhile, a third Filipino, Antonio Gabica, also remained in contention for a semi-final spot after staying unbeaten after three matches over in Group B. Gabica outclassed fellow Filipino Joven Bustamante, 9 – 5, on Friday then beat Malaysia's Ibrahim Bin Amir, 9 – 5, and survived Chinese Taipei's Wu Chia Ching, 9 - 7, yesterday.
The former Asian Games gold medalist needed just one more win in his last two assignments yesterday. He was still playing hometown bet Ricky Yang as of press time and was scheduled to meet Yang Ching Shun of Chinese Taipei yesterday evening.
Bustamante, the fourth Filipino in the group, is virtually eliminated from semi-final contention after dropping two of his three matches. The current WPA world number six fell to Gabica, 5 – 9, but nipped Indonesia's Yang, 9 – 8, Friday. Bustamante then bowed down to Yang Ching Shun, 4 – 9.
Up for grabs in the Grand Final is total prize money of US$72,000, with the winner taking home US$36,000. The Guinness 9 Ball Tour remains the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify for the WPA World Pool Championship. The six-city Tour previously had stops in Chinese-Taipei, Penang, Genting Highlands, Singapore, and Guangzhou.
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