Orcullo-Gomez tandem whips World Cup rivals

Former world No.1 player Dennis Orcullo and 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez used their experience to the hilt in dumping their young Croatian rivals, 8-4, in the World Cup of Pool Wednesday at the Midtown Wing of Robinsons Place in Ermita, Manila. Orcullo committed three illegal breaks while Gomez made one, but everything changed the moment the Pinoy cue artists made key adjustments. “Dennis committed three illegal breaks and I made one. You need to make a calculated break on the table to get your rhythm going," said Gomez, who lost the World 9-Ball Championship finals match to Daryl Peach of Great Britain at the Araneta Coliseum three years ago. But the more experienced Filipinos were able to pounce on every miscue by their young Croatian counterparts – Carlo Dalmatin and Philipp Stojanovic. The Croatians leveled the match for the last time at 4-all. That was their chance to grab the lead for the first time in the match, but Dalmatin missed a shot in the ninth rack, then fouled on the ball no. 9 when his shirt hit the ball. That gave the Filipinos the opportunity to take advantage as they took the next four racks en route to joining their much-heralded compatriots Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes and Francisco ‘Django’ Bustamante in the next round. “Playing on the TV table is different from the practice table. This match is really difficult and you need to make a lot of safety breaks to avoid violations," said Orcullo. Another tournament favorite – Chinese-Taipei – also lived up to its billing as one of the teams to watch out for in this tournament. Chinese-Taipei’s pair of two-time World Junior champions Ko Pin-Yi and Chang Jung-Lin, demolished their Malaysian counterparts, Ibrahim Bin Amir and Lee Poh Soon, 8-2. Also winning their respective matches Wednesday were England, which nipped Qatar, 8-7; France, which outplayed Australia, 8-5; Japan, which outlasted Slovenia, 8-7; and Poland, which clipped Malta, 8-6. - GMANews.TV