Orcollo tames Malta's Drago

MANILA, Philippines - World No. 1 Dennis Orcollo, aiming to become the first player to win the World Pool Masters in successive fashion, made short work of Malta’s Tony Drago, 8-2, in a swashbuckling start in the blue-ribbon three-day pool event at the SM North Edsa Mall yesterday.

Shrugging off a shaky first rack, Orcollo raced to a 6-1 lead and yielded only one more rack from there in pulling off the emphatic victory that spoke well of his determination to defend the crown he won in Las Vegas, Nevada last year.

“No one has won this event back-to-back. I have a chance, and I’ll give it a good shot,” said Orcollo riding a hot streak that included a gold-medal finish in the Guangzhou Asian Games late last year and the WPA World 8 Ball Championship early this year.

“There’s much pressure as I want to win this tournament. It’s hard to win your first match and I’m just thankful for the support of the fans,” said Orcollo, inspired by the crowd that cheered him on in the opener of the Masters that ushers in an nine-day pool festivities in the venue.

The World Cup of Pool, a team event ruled by Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante twice, will be held right after the Masters.

“I was disappointed by my error in the first rack. Good thing, I didn’t lose focus, and it’s really nice to win in front of your kababayans,” said Orcollo.

The 32-year-old pool master from Bislig, Surigao gave away the opening rack on an unforced error on the black 8.

But as Drago had his own miscue on the next rack, Orcollo established control and took less than an hour to win the match that sent him to the quarterfinals versus Chinese Taipei’s Chang Jung-lin.