By Marlon Bernardino - January 24, 2007
The "Son Of Pool" To Conquer The "Cradle Of Pool"
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - EFREN “Bata” Reyes, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Lee Van Corteza and Ronato “Ronnie Calamba” Alcano. All of them are in his victims’ list.
But just as Yang Ching-shun thought that he had beaten all the best Filipino cue artists, he was wrong for there is this guy named Dennis Orcollo he has yet to conquer.
So the “Son of pool” is coming back to the Philippines to meet its reigning money-game king, and once and for all complete his mighty conquest of the billiards capital of the world.
Yang will face-off with Orcollo in a race-to-60 match dubbed as “The Golden Pool Classic presents: Dennis Orcollo vs Yang Ching-shun it’s all about the money… and more” slated on April 20 to 22, and tentatively set at the Gateway Mall in Cubao, Quezon City.
Besides the prestigious claim of being the money-game king of the world, Orcollo and Yang will also dispute the $10,000 at stake in this three-day contest organized by the Bugsy Promotions and Rocketman Enterprises.
Though he holds no major title, the 28-year-old Yang is the most feared player in Chinese-Taipei that even the likes of his compatriots, former world champions Fong Pang-chao and Wu Chia-ching have taken his wrath.
“ Yang is really the best Taiwanese player today,” said Bugsy Promotions head Ceferino “Perry” Mariano.
“He may not be as popular as Fong and Wu, particularly to many of us Filipinos, but Yang is a very great player that almost everybody is afraid to face him, especially in a long one-on-one match like in money-game,” added Mariano.
“He is the money-game king of Taiwan.”
And he is trying to extend his territory to the Philippines.
During last year’s World Pool Championship, Yang, though not faring well in the tournament proper settling for just a round-of-32 finish, has created quite a tremor outside as he waylaid one after another all the players he met in a privately-arranged money-game matches reportedly.
Among his victims then was the former world no.1 Bustamante, whom he siphoned P150,000. Even Alcano, the eventual WPC champion, did not escape Yang’s fury, surrendering P150,000.
It was in Taiwan, meanwhile, where Yang demolished Reyes and again Bustamante.
“ It’s only Orcollo the remaining top Filipino player who Yang has yet to meet. That’s why we arranged this match to know if that Taiwanese guy really has the Filipinos’s number,” said Rocketman top honcho Ramon “Mon” Tuason.
The 28-year-old Orcollo is heavily regarded as the best money-game player in the Philippines that no one dared to challenge him except in a handicapped match with him giving the opponent an advantage huge advantage most of the time.
Moreover his home soil, this Surigao del Sur native has been making mammoth waves in the international money-game scene, most recent of which was in the 2007 Derby City Classic in Kentucky a couple of weeks ago, where he stole the spotlight from the tournament proper by winning a couple of nationally-televised side events in sweeping fashion, as well as a number of money-game matches.
Unfortunately, Orcollo is not as lucky in formal tournaments, where his greatest achievement so far is the title conquest of the 2006 World Pool League.
In that category, he ranks below the likes of world champions Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan, and Ronato "Ronnie Calamba" Alcano, all of whom he usually beat in the money-game.
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Yang also has ever said he wasn't familiar with Orcullo, and never met Orcullo before.
