Orcollo to defend world 8-ball title

World No. 1 Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo will defend his title in the 2012 World 8-Ball Championships which gets underway on Feb. 12 to 17 at the Fujairah Exhibition Center in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.

“I need to play hard. Every player has a chance to be a champion,” said the former fisherman from Bislig, Surigao del Sur.

Last year, Orcollo defeated Niels “The Terminator” Feijen of the Netherlands, 10-3, in the finals to win his first world title worth $40,000. That performance duplicated the World 8-Ball title conquest of compatriots Efren “Bata” Reyes in 2004 and Ronato “Volcano” Alcano in 2007.

The only World 8-Ball crowns that Filipino pool players failed to win were those in 2005 (won by Taiwanese Wu Chia-ching), 2008 (German Ralf Souquet) and 2010 (Englishman Karl Boyes). The event was not held in 2006 and 2009.

“We have a stronger lineup and I’m confident that we can win the crown this year,” said Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) co-founder Ceferino “Perry” Mariano, the top honcho of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions.

Also campaigning in the 2012 World 8-Ball are Carlo “The Black Tiger” Biado and Roberto “Pinoy Superman” Gomez of Bugsy Promotions and Lee Vann “The Slayer” Corteza of Jonathan Sy’s Negros Billiards Stable.

Meanwhile, Orcollo and boxing champion Nonito Donaire Jr. are the co-winners of the coveted Athlete of the Year award to be feted by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) the country’s oldest media organization during its annual Awards Night on March 3 at the Manila Hotel along Roxas Boulevard.

The PSA is composed of editors and sportswriters of the different national broadsheets and tabloids.