Orcollo, Biado reach semis
DENNIS Orcollo and Carlo Biado are the remaining Filipinos standing in the US Open 9-Ball Pool Championship at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City.
The experienced Orcollo beat Max Lechner of Austria, 11-7, Friday to forge a semifinals showdown with rising star Aloysius Yapp of Singapore.
Biado also booked his place in the semis after outlasting compatriot Johann Gonzales Chua in a hill hill thriller, 11-10. Biado will take on Naoyuki Oi of Japan in the other pairing.
Orcollo and Biado hopes to conquer Saturday’s semifinals to assure of an all-Filipino championship. Legendary Efren “Bata” Reyes was the last player from the Philippines to hoist the coveted US Open crown in 1994.
A two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, Orcollo is bracing for a tough semifinals with Yapp, who has been the 9-ball’s breakout star in the past few months.
After stunning the world’s top-ranked player Shane Van Boening of the United States, 11-5 in the competition’s last 16, Yap beat Filipino Rodrigo Geronimo, 11-6, in the quarterfinals.
Oi, on the other hand, sent 2019 world champion Fedor Gorst of Russia packing with a 11-9 victory, right after a 11-7 last 16 romp of David Alcade Bermudez of Spain.
The semifinals assured that there will be s first-ever all-Asian US Open Pool Championship final in its rich 45-year old history.
In the last 16, the Filipinos went perfect as Orcollo topped Mario He of Austria, 11-6, while Biado nipped David Bermudez of Spain, 11-10. Chua bested John Morra of Canada, 11-8, while Geronimo edged Denis Grabe of Estonia, 11-10.
