World no. 1 Dennis Orcollo joined compatriot Alex Pagulayan in the Final Four phase of the Singapore leg of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour 2008 at the Velocity@Novena Square.
Orcollo reached the semifinals by beating Fu Jian Bo of China, 9-6, to become the second Filipino to earn a Final Four berth. Pagulayan earlier qualified in the semis after a 9-4 win over Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Tuan.
For entering the Final Four round, the Orcollo and Pagulayan are already assured of $3,500 (P157,500).
Orcollo, who eliminated top favorite Chang Jung-Lin of Chinese Taipei in the group stage on Friday, capitalized on Fu’s miscues late in the match as he broke away from a 6-all tie to win three straight racks.
Fu had a scratch on the 13th rack and a foul in the 14th after Orcollo suffered a dry break in the same rack. Fu topped Group B following wins over Ryu Sheung Woo of Korea and Naoyuki Oi of Japan.
Orcollo will meet the winner of the quarterfinal match between Antonio Gabica and Yang Ching Shun, who are still playing as of posting time.
“I knew that it was going to be a tough match since I already faced Fu in several international competitions in the past. I wanted to finish the match as soon I had a chance since I consumed all my allotted extensions," Orcollo said.
In an earlier Group A match, Orcollo showed why he is the top ranked cue artist when he eliminated defending Grand Finals champion Chang Jung-Lin of Chinese Taipei, 9-7.
“I wasn’t nervous at all. It was unfortunate that he (Chang) had a lot of dry breaks, but that’s how the game goes. They kind of placed the racks a bit higher so I adjusted my breaks. This is a big win for me."
A fourth Filipino, Antonio Gabica, also reached the quarterfinals and is set to meet Yang Ching Shun of Chinese Taipei.
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