DENNIS “Surigao” Orcollo, acknowledge Philippine Billiards money game king is schedule to leave the country to compete in the upcoming 2007 Derby City Classic on January 5-17,2007 at the Executive West Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, the hometown of American boxing legend and world champion Muhammad Ali.
The 27-year-old Teacher's Village, Quezon City based and one of the rising players of Bugsy promotion of Perry and Verna Mariano will play in the following events.
They are Derby City One Pocket Division, Derby City Bank Division, Derby City 9-ball Division, Derby City Ring Game and Derby City Master of the Table.
“I need to practice hard, I knew a lot of tough player in the world will compete in the annual and prestigious Derby City Classic in Kentucky.” said Orcollo, the winningest Filipino player in the US pool circuit this year and also won the 2006 World Pool Leaque crown in Warsaw, Poland.
In fact, before facing a lot of greatest pool sharks next month so called the land of milk and honey, Orcollo, also had a monicker “Robocop” in the local pool played a practice match so called “money game” play which attracted country's top player in one of the famous billiards hall in Metro Manila where the champion take away the P180,000 winner-take all purse plus the title---the greatest “RP billiards money game king” in the land.
“Dennis (Orcollo) is still the most feared money game player in the country today.” said local billiards patron/businessman/ sportsman Ceferino Mariano.
The six man-field “money game play” starts late Wednesday and ends early Thursday in at five o' clock in the morning. The field are composed of Orcollo, Ronato Alcano (2006 WPC champ), Efren “Bata” Reyes (1999 WPC champ), Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan (2004 WPC champ), Francisco “Django” Bustamante (2002 WPC runner-up) and Lee Van Corteza (2006 All Japan Open champ).
Orcollo edges Bustamante, Pagulayan trounced Alcano and Corteza beat Reyes. With three player left in the knock-out stage format, Orcollo luckily won the draw lots and took a bye where the winner of the match between Corteza and Pagulayan will face Orcollo in the finals.
Corteza beat Pagulayan but loss to most aggressive Orcollo in the P180,000 winner-take all final match as the latter's retained his “RP money game king” title.
