Philippine National Pool Campionships start tomorrow
- Thread starter bandido
- Start date
Oh boy. I wish we could have seen this match between Orcullo and Corteza.
Corteza Beats Orcullo in Match for the Ages
Pool does not get better than this.
For over two hours Lee Van Corteza and Dennis Orcullo battled toe to toe in their semifinal match of the 2nd BSCP National Pool Championships on Friday (March 30) at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Each played nearly flawless pool, running out on their breaks even with difficult layouts. From one spectacular shot to another, they moved to the pulsating and almost unbearable climax.
With the score at 10-10, Orcullo deftly executed a long and difficult bank shot on the 5-ball to set up a run-out of the 6, 8 and 9. At that point he had not missed a ball all night. But then in the weirdest turn of a pool match one can imagine, he inexplicably missed the 6-ball, hanging it on the jaws of the right side pocket. Orcullo almost fainted in disbelief.
Awed as well as delighted by the gift, Corteza mopped up the table to book himself a seat in the finals against Marlon Manalo, who earlier beat Antonio Lining 11-5 in the other semifinal.
The match was close and tense after Corteza took a 2-0 lead in the early going. Although Orcullo won the lag, his opening break gave him no shot at the 1-ball. Corteza won the first rack after a safety battle and then had a runout on his first break.
Thereafter the match settled into an exchange of gamewinning break-runouts.Orcullo broke and ran out the third rack, then Corteza replied with a runout of his own in the fourth rack. Corteza’s lead hovered between 1 and 2 until the 18th rack.
With the score at 9-8, Corteza missed a critical bank shot to the corner when he could have opted for a safety play as the easier option. Orcullo made a difficult cut on the 1-ball and mopped up the table, knotting the count at 9-all.
Orcullo had the break in the 19th rack and this was the chance he had been seeking all evening. He wasted no time breaking and running out the rack, and took the lead for the first time at 10-9.
In the 20th rack, Corteza sank a ball but had no good shot at the 1-ball. He played a difficult safety play that left the 1-ball on one end of the table and the cue ball on the other close to a corner pocket. Orcullo’s counter-safety yielded a shot at the 1-ball.
It was now Corteza’s turn to show his stuff. Faced with a difficult bank shot on the 3-ball similar to the one he missed in the 18th rack, he coolly sank it and then ran out the table, tying the score at 10-10.
At this point, many spectators had already found the duel unbearable to watch. Jonathan Sy, Corteza’s manager, left the stands and followed the remaining games by remote, hoping this would give his player better luck at the table. His counterpart, Perry Mariano, did not go to the arena at all, preferring to follow developments by mobile phone. His wife Verna bore the brunt of being Orcullo’s chief cheerleader, living and dying with every shot. Other spectators left the stands and preferred to follow the match on the huge TV projection screen in the stadium.
The antics notwithstanding, the match moved on to its inevitable conclusion: one man left standing. This time around, as the gods would have it, Lee Van Corteza was the favored one. Orcullo would have to find his day another time.
Full men's tournament brackets can be found here.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 31 March 2007 )
Corteza Beats Orcullo in Match for the Ages
Pool does not get better than this.
For over two hours Lee Van Corteza and Dennis Orcullo battled toe to toe in their semifinal match of the 2nd BSCP National Pool Championships on Friday (March 30) at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Each played nearly flawless pool, running out on their breaks even with difficult layouts. From one spectacular shot to another, they moved to the pulsating and almost unbearable climax.
With the score at 10-10, Orcullo deftly executed a long and difficult bank shot on the 5-ball to set up a run-out of the 6, 8 and 9. At that point he had not missed a ball all night. But then in the weirdest turn of a pool match one can imagine, he inexplicably missed the 6-ball, hanging it on the jaws of the right side pocket. Orcullo almost fainted in disbelief.
Awed as well as delighted by the gift, Corteza mopped up the table to book himself a seat in the finals against Marlon Manalo, who earlier beat Antonio Lining 11-5 in the other semifinal.
The match was close and tense after Corteza took a 2-0 lead in the early going. Although Orcullo won the lag, his opening break gave him no shot at the 1-ball. Corteza won the first rack after a safety battle and then had a runout on his first break.
Thereafter the match settled into an exchange of gamewinning break-runouts.Orcullo broke and ran out the third rack, then Corteza replied with a runout of his own in the fourth rack. Corteza’s lead hovered between 1 and 2 until the 18th rack.
With the score at 9-8, Corteza missed a critical bank shot to the corner when he could have opted for a safety play as the easier option. Orcullo made a difficult cut on the 1-ball and mopped up the table, knotting the count at 9-all.
Orcullo had the break in the 19th rack and this was the chance he had been seeking all evening. He wasted no time breaking and running out the rack, and took the lead for the first time at 10-9.
In the 20th rack, Corteza sank a ball but had no good shot at the 1-ball. He played a difficult safety play that left the 1-ball on one end of the table and the cue ball on the other close to a corner pocket. Orcullo’s counter-safety yielded a shot at the 1-ball.
It was now Corteza’s turn to show his stuff. Faced with a difficult bank shot on the 3-ball similar to the one he missed in the 18th rack, he coolly sank it and then ran out the table, tying the score at 10-10.
At this point, many spectators had already found the duel unbearable to watch. Jonathan Sy, Corteza’s manager, left the stands and followed the remaining games by remote, hoping this would give his player better luck at the table. His counterpart, Perry Mariano, did not go to the arena at all, preferring to follow developments by mobile phone. His wife Verna bore the brunt of being Orcullo’s chief cheerleader, living and dying with every shot. Other spectators left the stands and preferred to follow the match on the huge TV projection screen in the stadium.
The antics notwithstanding, the match moved on to its inevitable conclusion: one man left standing. This time around, as the gods would have it, Lee Van Corteza was the favored one. Orcullo would have to find his day another time.
Full men's tournament brackets can be found here.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 31 March 2007 )
So Van Van is still giving Dennis some trouble even in a tournament. I heard from Roy, Dennis lost to Van Van in money games.
BlowFish said:
drats !!!