TINAMBAKAN ng Team Philippines ang Hungary, 9-1, Sabado ng gabi para umusad sa semifinal round ng 2013 World Cup of Pool na ginaganap sa York Hall sa London, England.
Halos walang hirap na pinatalsik nina Dennis Orcullo at Lee Vann Corteza ang Hungarian tandem nina Balazs Mikos at Gabor Solymosi na nakarating sa quarterfinal round matapos biguin ang China at Russia sa unang dalawang rounds.
Sa semifinals ay makakasagupa ng kapwa taga-Mindanao na sina Orcullo at Corteza sina Chang Jung-Lin at Ko Pin-Yi ng Chinese Taipei na tinisod ang pambato ng home team England na sina Darren Appleton at Karl Boyes, 9-3.
Ang isa pang semifinals encounter ay sa pagitan ng Finland at Holland.
Tinalo ng Finland na binubuo nina Mika Immonen at Petri Makkonen ang Team B ng England, 9-3, habang naungusan naman ng Holland na pinagtambalan nina Nick Van den Berg at Niels Feijen ang Japan, 9-8.
Sa unang dalawang round ng torneo ay tinalo ng Pilipinas ang Croatia (7-4) at Singapore (7-3). Kontra Hungary ay muling sinuwerte ang pares nina Orcullo at Corteza.
“We were a bit lucky off the break,” sabi ni Corteza na tubong Davao City.
“We always had a ball on and we tried to make the most of it. We didn’t really give them that many chances so we’re really pleased to be through to the semifinals.”
Dagdag pa ni Corteza, nagkaisa sila ng taga-Bislig, Surigao del Sur na si Orcullo na babawi sila sa masaklap na kampanya sa torneong ito noong isang taon.
“Last year (in Manila) we lost in the first round but this year, being in London, there’s not so much pressure so we’re trying to relax and play our best. It’s either England or Taiwan tomorrow but both teams are very good so we’ll have to come with our best,” aniya.
Ang torneo ay nag-aalok ng $250,000 kabuuang premyo kabilang ang $60,000 para sa mananalong pares.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.