Orcollo, Corteza blow World Cup of Pool bid

MANILA, Philippines - The reign of Filipinos Dennis Orcollo and Lee Vann Corteza in the World Cup of Pool came to an end Saturday as the duo dropped a numbing 7-9 setback to Finland in their quarterfinal duel at Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth, England.

Orcollo and Corteza stormed to a 7-5 advantage against Mika Immonent and Petri Makkonen but failed to sustain the charge, committing a couple of miscues that led to their ouster and threw away their plans for back-to-back crowns.

“It was a nail-biter and we were hanging in there by the skin of our teeth. We somehow got ourselves over the finish line in the end,” Immonen told the event’s website www.matchroomsport.com.

At 7-5, the Pinoys gave the Finns an opening when Orcollo committed an illegal break. Finland quickly capitalized to cut Phl’s lead to 7-6 then took care of business by breaking and running in the next to level the count.

Immonen and Makkonen got on the hill after pouncing on a foul by Orcollo, who tried in vain to jump the seven-ball and pocket the one-ball in a tough situation in the 15th.

The Finns then broke and ran out to complete the come-from-behind win, which set them up for a semis duel with England A’s Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes. The English bets dispatched Americans Earl Strickland and Shane Van Boening, 9-7.

Holland, composed of reigning world champ Noels Feijen and Nick Van den Berg, and Austria’s Mario He and Albin Ouschan will play in the other semis matchup. The Dutch turned back Germany in the quarters, 9-7, while the Austrians routed China, 9-3.