 Dennis Orcollo |
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - SLOWLY but surely, Dennis Orcollo's financial status has improved. And he credits it all to his billiards skills.
“Billiards is the reason why my family has gotten out of poverty,” said Orcollo, who turns 28 today, in Filipino.
It is the cash prize, Orcollo admits, which inspires him to strive hard and go all the way.
“The money game has enhanced my reputation as one of the country's best players today,” said Orcollo, who learned to play billiards in his grandfather's house in Bislig, Surigao del Sur, twenty years ago.
Most of the fancied players in the money game are Filipinos. Jose “Amang” Parica and Efren “Bata” Reyes used to be the best in the business. But Orcollo, although lacking in major titles here and abroad, is now ranked by his peers as the top moneymaker.
Orcollo himself has high regards for his compatriots. “There are many Filipinos who are feared when it comes to betting. I play cautiously against Ga-Ga (Antonio Gabica), Django (Francisco Bustamante) and Van-Van (Lee Vann Corteza).
On April 20, 21 and 22, Orcollo will take on a new challenge when he faces Yang Ching-shun of Taiwan in a winner-take-all 9-ball marathon presented by Golden Pool Classic at the Gateway Mall in Cubao, Quezon City.
The race-to-60 duel dubbed as “It's all about money...and more” and organized by Bugsy Promotion and Rocketman Enterprises offers $10,000 (nearly P.5 million) to the winner.
“Dennis and Yang are similar in many ways,” said Rocketman Enterprises head Ramon “Mon” Tuason. “They're both fearsome money game players.”
“The fight's going to be close,” said Bugsy Promotion head Perry Mariano. “In a long match, the better-conditioned player will win.”
File photo courtesy of Diana Hoppe - Pool Pics by Hoppe
