Ronnie Alcano, Francisco Bustamante or Dennis Orcollo? Who's better?

3

34YearsOfPlayin

AzB Silver Member
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I really enjoy watching the Filipino players play pool. I think that they play very smart. Not to say there is not equally good American players however.

Ronnie Alcano is not as heard of as much as Francisco Bustamante but is quite good. They both have very long strokes and play very similar. Who do you think plays better out of the two?

Finally there is Dennis Orcollo who has a totally different style. He like a very short stroke and plays very differently.

Who do you think plays the best out of all three? I was just kinda asking myself this question and thought that it would be a fun topic of conversation here.
 
ribdoner

ribdoner

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34YearsOfPlayin said:
I really enjoy watching the Filipino players play pool. I think that they play very smart. Not to say there is not equally good American players however.

Ronnie Alcano is not as heard of as much as Francisco Bustamante but is quite good. They both have very long strokes and play very similar. Who do you think plays better out of the two?

Finally there is Dennis Orcollo who has a totally different style. He like a very short stroke and plays very differently.

Who do you think plays the best out of all three? I was just kinda asking myself this question and thought that it would be a fun topic of conversation here.
Click to expand...

in his prime i'd give a very slight edge to Busti over DO...RA is in both rear view mirrors

from the early 90's through the early 03 or so he played 9b as well or better than anyone on the planet

NOBODY went to GERMANY to try him some (as far as i know)
 
Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
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Here's where FargoRate says they rank (in the world) right now:

rank.JPG

pj
chgo
 
iusedtoberich

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
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IMO, Busty was the best of them prime vs prime. I think he might have even been better than Reyes. Look at him in one hole now, at the end of his career. He is probably the best on the planet. Only Alex might be better, and Alex only edged him out one game in a long race a month back. In the 9 ball days, I doubt a single player was better at 9 ball.
 
E

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
big question, but I'll play since I love all those guys :)

*to me*
technique-wise, dennis is the most solid overall
and mentally he's double tough
put your money on him, especially over time

ronnie was such a great talent..
maybe the greatest talent of the three
so powerful, but also so dynamic
and very accomplished..multiple chips
but he just couldn't keep it going

you got to give it up to busti
he and efren paved the way for ronnie and dennis!
massive break/stroke, but great feel, too
the guy's a world champ, a threat in nearly any game
and pushing 60, he's getting better in some regards
I would attribute this to his attitude/mindset.
he's appears very cool and down to earth
busti's got the flavor..

perhaps over time, dennis might miss less
but with all their energy
guys like busti and ronnie can outrun the nuts
they just ooze some "stuff"..
ronnie flamed out tho

and busti started with a spark
(when you could still smoke at the table-!)
but he never stopped shining
and in my humble opinion
his consistency over his long, accomplished career
rank him ahead of the other two
busti is my guy.
but with respect, dennis is still going...

three
great
players.
 
highkarate

highkarate

AzB Silver Member
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Ronnie used to be my favorite player and was almost certainly the best 9-ball and rotation player in the world for some period of time. But this is too tough to call if we are talking about them all in their primes. I may give the slight edge to Dennis just because I think the very efficient style he plays gives him a slight edge in the long run. I also believe that if there were no Efren Reyes, we would consider Busty the all time goat. So I guess my official response is... good question haha.
 
pt109

pt109

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Make them all 56....my money is on Bustie
Make them all 30....my money is on Bustie....but Dennis would bust me a lot
Make them all 23....my money is on Django

But nobody has a lock....Ronnie will have days he beats them both

Make them all 65....Bustie gives them both the 7....Ronnie and Dennis aren’t aging as well.
 
brilliance

brilliance

AzB Silver Member
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hi

If we select best years or all three think Roonie was the best ih his best period of time.
 
sjm

sjm

Older and Wiser
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Alcano, in my view, doesn't belong in this conversation.

Bustamante vs Orcullo is really close. Bustamante certainly has more significant titles by quite a bit, but Dennis, as an all-around player, might just be the better of the two. Dennis has won multiple DCC Master of the Table titles, but he's also won the 10-ball at the Derby and has shined year after year in the straight pool, too, even running 260 on a 4 1/4" pocket table during the 2018 DCC 14.1 Challenge.

I've concluded that Bustamante vs Orcullo is too close to call.
 
L

LHP5

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
sjm said:
Alcano, in my view, doesn't belong in this conversation.

Bustamante vs Orcullo is really close. Bustamante certainly has more significant titles by quite a bit, but Dennis, as an all-around player, might just be the better of the two. Dennis has won multiple DCC Master of the Table titles, but he's also won the 10-ball at the Derby and has shined year after year in the straight pool, too, even running 260 on a 4 1/4" pocket table during the 2018 DCC 14.1 Challenge.

I've concluded that Bustamante vs Orcullo is too close to call.
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I agree that Alcano's game might not have aged as well as Bustamante's but he did win world title's in both 9 ball and 8 ball. Guy was feared in the mid-2000's era. Also doesn't Bustamante have more 1 pocket titles than Orcollo? He's got to have at least 2 at Derby and has multiple all arounds too.
 
terryhanna

terryhanna

AzB Silver Member
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pt109 said:
Make them all 56....my money is on Bustie
Make them all 30....my money is on Bustie....but Dennis would bust me a lot
Make them all 23....my money is on Django

But nobody has a lock....Ronnie will have days he beats them both

Make them all 65....Bustie gives them both the 7....Ronnie and Dennis aren’t aging as well.
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Corey got to see the old man still has it 1st hand when they played their big action One Pocket match earlier this year in New Orleans :yeah:

106572614_10217741338231729_5901190936819086621_o.jpg
 
TATE

TATE

AzB Gold Mensch
Silver Member
You forgot Alex.

Right now Dennis is the best, then Alex, then Bustamante, then Alcano. If you take all three games, 9 ball, 10 ball and one pocket with Dennis, Alex and and Busty in their prime, it's pretty much even (depending on which Alex shows up).

I thought Dennis was the best in the world but he can't beat Shane in long 10 ball races, but Alex somehow managed to do that. If Busty was in his prime, Shane would have a match in a long 10 ball race. Toss a coin on those three and I would take any over Alcano.
 
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Hunter

Hunter

The King of Memes
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There's a kid in the Philippines that I think is better than any of them. He looks like he's fifteen. His name is Anton Raga, and if you haven't seen him play, he's on several You Tube videos.
 
W

white1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Great thread

Agree. Busty, Alex, and Dennis so very close. Efren of course, the best ever. Ronnie could beat anybody for a minute. Coin toss.......gambling.......Dennis/then Alex slight edge over Buste, but very slight. Nobody has to like playing any of them......younger players.....way too many to start listing. Thx
 
ribdoner

ribdoner

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Hunter said:
There's a kid in the Philippines that I think is better than any of them. He looks like he's fifteen. His name is Anton Raga, and if you haven't seen him play, he's on several You Tube videos.
Click to expand...

looks 15 however i think i heard he was 20+-
 
pt109

pt109

WO double hemlock
Silver Member
TATE said:
You forgot Alex.

Right now Dennis is the best, then Alex, then Bustamante, then Alcano. If you take all three games, 9 ball, 10 ball and one pocket with Dennis, Alex and and Busty in their prime, it's pretty much even (depending on which Alex shows up).

I thought Dennis was the best in the world but he can't beat Shane in long 10 ball races, but Alex somehow managed to do that. If Busty was in his prime, Shane would have a match in a long 10 ball race. Toss a coin on those three and I would take any over Alcano.
Click to expand...

I can remember Bustie taking a win over Shane in a TAR match.
In the after match interview, Bustie says he thought he played pretty good ( he won ) but he said “Efren says I played like shit.”....you could see Efren grinning in the background.
 
Black-Balled

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
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Hunter said:
There's a kid in the Philippines that I think is better than any of them. He looks like he's fifteen. His name is Anton Raga, and if you haven't seen him play, he's on several You Tube videos.
Click to expand...

Raga muffin was born in 1997
 
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