Orcollo scores in World 9-ball opener

MANILA, Philippines - Former world champion Dennis Orcollo lived up to the hype and easily hurdled his first assignment in the group stages of the WPA World 9-ball Championship at Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha, Qatar Sunday night.

Orcollo stormed to a comfortable 9-4 win over Spain’s Francisco Diaz Pizarro to start his bid in Group 13 on a fiery note.

Qatar-based veteran Antonio Gabica (Group 16) and qualifier Jeffrey Ignacio (Group 15) likewise took care of business on their respective groups, beating Kuwaiti Omar Alsheen, 9-3, and Sweden’s Andreas Gerwen, 9-7.

Orcollo, Gabica and Ignacio need one more victory to book slots to the Final 64.

Meanwhile, Lee Vann Corteza rebounded from his opening-day loss with a 9-7 victory over UAE’s Mohamed Al Hosaini, 9-7, in the losers’ side of Group 7 to stay alive.

Qatar-based Pinoy Francisco Felicilda also emerged victorious in the losers’ bracket of Group 12, staying in the hunt with a 9-7 win over Lebanon’s Mohammad Berjaoui.

But Qatar-based Amir Rota suffered his second straight defeat in Group 9, 8-9 to China’s Zhu Xi He. Rota was the first among the Filipinos to crash out of the tourney.