Gomez Wins Easily But Orcollo Struggles In Villar Cup

Two-time leg champion Roberto Gomez made mincemeat of local bet Reynaldo Lariba Jr., pulling of an easy 9-1 win to lead the early winners at the start of The Manny Villar Cup Kadayawan Leg at the jampacked Activity Center of the NCCC Mall  in Davao City on Friday..
 
Gomez, who also won the series' stop here last year, hardly broke a sweat against the visibly nervous Lariba, as he quickly raced to a 3-0 lead that set the tone for the lopsided first win in this 10th edition of the prestigious island-hopping series presented by Senator Manny Villar's Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports.
 
Lariba, who made it to the main draw via the qualifying tournament Thursday, took the fourth rack, but that was all he could do, as Gomez never gave him any chance again.
 
“From the start I saw that Lariba was nervous probably because of the huge crowd watching while I was very lucky and played some good shots” said Gomez who is the pride of Zamboanga.
 
Gomez is trying  to become the first three-time winner of this event sponsored by Camella Communities.
 
Villar Cup Cebu leg titlist Gandy Valle was the second to advance into the round-of-16 after the former Asian Games gold medalist subdued Manila qualifier Jundel Mazon, 9-4, to the delight of his fellow Davaoenos.
 
Valle who lost to Gomez in last year's finals in the Kadayawan leg aid“It was a tough win. Its hard to beat some players who come through the qualifiers. I had to be very careful because a slight mistake would have a big effect.”

Valle is up against two-time World Juniors campaigner Rene Mar David, who defeated another local qualifier Danny Trazona, 9-5.
 
Meanwhile, former world no.1 Dennis Orcollo had to crawl back from a three-rack deficit to beat fellow Bugsy Promotions player  Richard Pornelosa, 9-7, and keep his bid alive for his first title in this series co-organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) headed by president Atty. Vic Rodriguez.
 
After pocketing the first two racks, Orcollo ran into a series of lapses that allowed Pornelosa to take five consecutive racks for a 5-2 lead.
 
But not wanting another disappointing stint, Orcollo, whose best performance in the Villar Cup was a runner-up finish to Valle in Cebu, summoned the skills that won him many international titles and he methodically recovered from the temporary slump.
 
Orcollo conceded that “ its tough f or me in the Villar Cup but I am determined to win” but that may well be a tough task as he faces the in-form Gomez next.