MANILA, PHILIPPINES---Jeffrey "Jeff Bata" De Luna capped an eventful week with a wire-to-wire 11-9 victory over Dennis Orcollo in the finals of the Manny Pacquiao International 9-Ball Open Saturday night at the Entertainment Center of Mall of Asia.
De Luna, who paid a visit to Vice-President Noli De Castro prior to the tournament, went undefeated in seven matches, enhancing his status as one of the country's top pool players today.
After winning the lag, the power-breaking cue artist rolled to a 6-0 lead and cooled off Orcollo's repeated rallies with brilliant and timely shot making.
"I'm just fortunate because I got off to a very good start," said De Luna, one of the country's representatives in the Kabayan World 9-Ball Challenge: Philippines vs. Rest of the World.
His victory earned him his biggest paycheck yet – P1-Million courtesy of tournament host Manny Pacquiao.
De Luna netted P850,000 from the local government after winning the silver medal in the Doha Asian Games.
Orcollo, the world's acknowledged money game king and De Luna's stablemate at Bugsy Promotions, settled for P500,000.
De Luna booked a seat in the finals after toppling fellow power-breaker Rodolfo "Boy Samson" Luat, 10-6. Orcollo manhandled Sta. Cruz, Laguna standout Michael Feliciano, 10-2.
Luat and Feliciano took home P150,000 each.
"My victory is very timely because both my son and daughter are sick right now," said De Luna, dedicating the victory to his wife Ian, son Alexander and daughter Alexandra.
The 23-year-old is on a roll recently, topping the Pool Showdown twice at the expense of Ricky Zerna and Panfilo Damuag.
