“Dumating ako dito na umaasang mananalo ako kaya ngayong nangyari na, kumpleto na ang misyon para sa akin,” said Orcollo after beating Indon bet Ricky Yang, 7-2, in the finals at the Ogan Permata Indah Hall here.
It was the third SEAG gold for the 32-year-old Surigao native, who won the 9-ball singles and doubles with Alex Pagulayan in his debut with the national team at the 2005 Manila meet.
This one he considers sweeter since he went out here to make up for a semifinal exit at the 2009 Laos edition in the 9-ball event.
The load he was carrying completely got off his back after Orcollo complemented a good start in the final match by running out the last rack against Yang, a veteran internationalist himself.
“Ninerbiyos daw si Yang, according to the Indonesians we talked to,” related PH team manager Robert Mananquil.
The one-sided match readily showed in the way Orcollo quickly took a 3-0 lead.
“The match was practically over by then, kasi kitang-kita na wala na sa usual na tumbok si Yang,” said Mananquil.
For his part, Orcollo said his year-long stints in international competitions helped toughen him up.
Still, there were admittedly some jitters which he tried to dispel by hanging out with his teammates including Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante.
All must have combined to put him at ease for on Sunday he hurdled Singapore's Chan Keng Kwang in the quarters before beating another Indon, Muhammad Zulfikri, in the semis.
