Disputes top group seeding vs Poland; Phl repels USA, gains KO stage

MANILA, Philippines - Powerhouse Philippines nipped USA, 4-2, to make it two in a row in Group A and put a lock on a berth to the knockout stage of the World Pool Team Championship Tuesday at Tongzhou Luhe High School in Beijing.

National  masters Dennis Orcollo, Lee Vann Corteza, Carlo Biado and Rubilen Amit followed up their 5-1 disposal of Bulgaria with a victory over Americans Oscar Dominguez, Hunter Lombardo, Corey Deuel and Jennifer Barretta in the six-match set to hike their tally to six points with still one match left in group play,

The Filipinos dropped the 8-ball men’s singles to the Americans, 2-6, but ruled four of the next five events - 8-ball men’s doubles, 9-ball men’s singles, 10-ball men’s singles, and 10-ball mixed scotch doubles - to secure the triumph.

Orcollo and company wrap up their group assignment against Poland’s Karol Skowerski, Tomasz Kaplan, Mateusz Sniegocki, Katazyna Weslowska in a virtual dispute for Group A top team going to the Final 16.

The Polish swept Bulgaria’s Stanimir Dimitrov, Radostin Dimov, Lyudmil Georgiev, Kristina Zlateva, 6-0, to go 2-0, too, following a 4-2 win over USA on opening day.

Defending champion Chinese Taipei and 2012 runner-up Japan also stormed to their second straight wins in Group E and F, respectively.

Taiwanese stars Chang Jun Lin, Ko Pin Yi, Hsu Kai Lun, Fu Che Wei, and Chou Cheih Yu beat Russia’s Konstantin Stepanov, Ruslan Chinakhov, Andrey Seroshtan, and Ann Mazhirina, 5-1, while Japanese Naoyuki Oi, Sasaaki Tanaka, Hayato Hijikata, and Chichiro Kawahara dominated India’s Sumit Talwar, Sundeep Gulati, Lalrina Tenthlei, Suniti Damani via the same score.

Germany went through the wringer before prevailing over Austria, 4-2, then blitzed past South Africa, 2-0, to nail one of the Last-16 berths in Group C, the so-called “group of death” in the $300,000 tourney.

Ina Kaplan and Sebastian Staab secured the marginal win for the Germans in the 10-ball mixed scotch doubles, 7-2 over  Jasmine Ouschan and Jurgen Jenisy.

Host China’s two teams steamrolled their respective rivals to move forward.

China 1’s Li He Wen, Wu Jiaqing, Chu Bing Chia, Han Yu and Chen Siming clobbered Croatia’s Josip Susnjara, Ivica Putnik, Marko Lisnic, and Antonijevic Zrinka, 5-1, for its second triumph in Group B.  China 2’s Liu Haitao, Dang Ching Hu, Wang Can, Fu Xiaofang, and Liu Shasha scored a similar 5-1 drubbing of Vietnam’s Trung Le Quang, Tuan Nguyen Anh, Quan Do Hoang, Le Doan Thi Ngoc in Group D.

Sweden’s Anreas Gerven, Marcus Chamat, Tomas Larsson, Caroline Roos won their second straight match at the expense of Mongolia’s L. Delgerdalai, D. Damdinjamts, A. Yeruult, , A. Delgerkhuu,  Z. Zoljargal, 5-1, in Group B.