Bustamante ends barren spell

Francisco “Django” Bustamante came up with a near-flawless performance in holding off Roberto Gomez, 11-7, in the finals to rule the Manny Villar Cup Panagbenga leg on Sunday night at the Events Center of SM City in Baguio City.

The win ended a barren spell for the 44-year-old Bustamante, who has not won a big event since winning the Master of the Table plum in the 2007 Derby City Classic.

“I’m very happy for this win, because this event is one of the toughest not just here in the Philippines but in the whole world,” said the pride of Tarlac, who never made it past the quarterfinals in any of the Manny Villar Cup legs last year.

After splitting the first six racks with both players holding, Bustamante scored on Gomez’s break after the latter was forced to play a safety on a difficult layout.

That ignited a 6-2 run that gave Bustamante a 9-5 lead.

Gomez, runner-up in the 2007 World Pool Championship, managed to close in at 9-7 but that proved to be his last stand, as Bustamante broke and ran out the 17th frame and won a battle of safety shots in the next games to close out the match and bag P300,000.

“You are a hero of this nation and we are very proud of you,” Senator Villar told Bustamante during the awarding ceremony.

Villar, who launched the island-hopping series last year, also lauded teenage bet Rene Mar David for his third-place finish.

“I’m happy to see that our young players like Rene Mar are slowly catching up with our superstars as it shows that we are achieving our main objective in putting up this Villar Cup, which is to develop more world-class pool players and continue our dominance in the sport,” added Villar.

David, the 19-year-old upstart from Candon, Ilocos Sur, won his first three matches, including a mammoth upset of pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes in the second round, before bowing to Bustamante, 10-8, in the semifinals.

Gomez, who was trying to become the first two-time Villar Cup winner, settled for the runner-up prize of P120,000, while David and other losing semifinalist Warren Kiamco took home P40,000 each. The series, backed by Camella Communities, visits Lucena City next month.

Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines president Vic Rodriguez also said Villar will be the chief backer of the national championship they are organizing.

Bustamante, Gomez set up title duel

BAGUIO CITY — Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Roberto Gomez posted similar hard-earned 10-8 victories on Sunday to forge a title clash in the Manny Villar Cup Panagbenga leg at the Events Center of SM City Baguio.

The 45-year-old Bustamante repulsed rising star Rene Mar David’s fiery rally while Gomez rallied from three racks down to subdue Warren Kiamco in a pair of thrilling semifinal duels.

Trailing 3-6, Gomez allowed Kiamco to win only two more racks the rest of the way as the 2007 World Pool Championship runner-up stood on the threshold of becoming the series’ first double leg titlist.

To do that, Gomez, winner of the Davao leg last August, has to get past the multi-titled Bustamante in the race-to-11, alternate break finals slated late Sunday.

Though Bustamante surged ahead at 4-1, he found David a tough customer as the 19-year-old conqueror of pool maestro Efren “Bata” Reyes in the second round managed to draw level at 8-8.

The wiry David, a two-time Junior World campaigner, even had the chance to reach the hill first, but got stymied when his break on the 17th rack went dry.

It was all Bustamante needed as he cleaned up the open layout and then sealed the win by running out the 18th frame.

Still, David, a prized find from Candon, Ilocos Sur, by Bugsy Promotions head Perry Mariano, left a lasting impression on Bustamante.

“This kid (David) is good and brave,” said Bustamante. “I won’t be surprised if he becomes a world champion someday.”

“I’ve been longing for a victory in the Villar Cup and now that I am this close I’m going to give everything that I’ve got,” added Bustamante, who advanced to the semifinals by besting Lee Vann Corteza, 9-6, in the quarterfinals Saturday night.

Kiamco made the semifinals after downing former double world champion Ronnie Alcano, 9-1, in the quarterfinal round.

Bustamante wins Villar Cup 1st leg

Filipino pool legend Francisco “Django” Bustamante rekindled the touch and the fire of old to beat Roberto Gomez, 10-7, in the finals of the Manny Villar Cup Panagbenga leg at the SM Baguio Events Center, Baguio City.

The showdown was a battle of World Pool Championship runners-up with Bustamante always getting a shot ahead of Gomez.

Bustamante lost to Earl “The Pearl” Strickland in an emotional final in 2002 while Gomez faltered down the stretch to lose to Darryl Peach of England

The seasoned Bustamante said he had longed to win the Villar Cup adding that when he got close he was never going to let the chance slip away.

He went home with the P300,000 top purse.

In the semifinals, Bustamante got off to a strong start but had to rely on an even stronger finish to end the campaign of giant-slayer Rene Mar David.

Gomez, for his part, clawed back from three racks down to edge Warren Kiamco 10-8.

Bustamante faced the teenage sensation David who had earlier dropped Bustamante’s bosom buddy, Efren “Bata” Reyes in the second round.

Bustamante scored a 10-8 victory over David en route to his finals showdown with Gomez.

Billiards Events Set for Vegas

World Pool Masters and International 10-Ball Championships Set to Rock the Riviera.

The BCA Pool League is proud to announce the return of two of the most prestigious professional events to the Riviera Hotel and Casino May 2009. The 17th Party Poker.net World Pool Masters and the 9th Annual Predator 10-Ball Championship will be in the Royale Pavilion once again along side the BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships.

The World Pool Masters, one of the most revered invitational events with a limited field of 16 players is produced by Matchroom Sport and will take center stage first at the Royale Pavilion May 8-10. A large supplier of sports programming worldwide, Matchroom Sport also produces other well regarded events such as the Mosconi Cup and the World Cup of Pool in addition to Darts, Fishing, Pokes, Snooker, Boxing, Tenpin and Bowls.

Equally exciting, the Predator 10-Ball Championship produced by Dragon Promotions will move into the pavilion May 11-16. The tournament boasts a roster of the top pool talent from across the globe. Last year’s winner Tony Drago of Malta, considered one of the fastest players in the world, will have an opportunity to defend his 2008 title. Once again he will have to face players such as Shane Van Boening, Mika Immonen, Johnny Archer, Francisco Bustamante, John Schmidt, Efren Reyes and the 2008 World Pool Masters winner Alex Pagulayan just to name a few of the illustrious names who will be in attendance. Watch for links on the BCA Pool League web site at Playbca.com for more information and tickets to the professional events. For more information about Matchroom Sport and the World Pool Masters please visit Matchroomsport.com and for the Predator 10-Ball Championship visit Dragonpromotions.com.
CueSports International (CSI) … more choices for players
of all abilities –

BCA Pool League (BCAPL), playBCA.com, National
Championship Series (NCS), playCSIpool.com, & U.S.
Bar Table Championships.

World Pool Masters and International 10-Ball Championships Set to Rock the Riviera

The BCA Pool League is proud to announce the return of two of the most prestigious professional events to the Riviera Hotel and Casino May 2009. The 17th Party Poker.net World Pool Masters and the 9th Annual Predator 10-Ball Championship will be in the Royale Pavilion once again along side the BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships.

The World Pool Masters, one of the most revered invitational events with a limited field of 16 players is produced by Matchroom Sport and will take center stage first at the Royale Pavilion May 8-10. A large supplier of sports programming worldwide, Matchroom Sport also produces other well regarded events such as the Mosconi Cup and the World Cup of Pool in addition to Darts, Fishing, Pokes, Snooker, Boxing, Tenpin and Bowls.

Equally exciting, the Predator 10-Ball Championship produced by Dragon Promotions will move into the pavilion May 11-16. The tournament boasts a roster of the top pool talent from across the globe. Last year’s winner Tony Drago of Malta, considered one of the fastest players in the world, will have an opportunity to defend his 2008 title. Once again he will have to face players such as Shane Van Boening, Mika Immonen, Johnny Archer, Francisco Bustamante, John Schmidt, Efren Reyes and the 2008 World Pool Masters winner Alex Pagulayan just to name a few of the illustrious names who will be in attendance.

Reyes-Bustamante in WC of Pool

MANILA, Philippines—Buddies Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante are likely to resume their partnership when the World Cup of Pool is held in the country on Sept. 1-6.

Reyes and Bustamante won the event’s initial staging in 2006, but were beaten by the Chinese tandem of Li He-wen and Fu Jianbo in the quarterfinals of the 2007 edition. Li and Fu went on to win the title.

Ronnie Alcano and Dennis Orcollo represented the Philippines last year, reaching the semifinals where they were beaten by Americans end eventual champions Rodney Morris and Shane Van Boening.

Eddie Hearn of the organizing Matchroom Sports said on Wednesday that Reyes-Bustamante representing the Philippines is highly probable.

A total cash prize of $250,000 is up for grabs in the World Cup, featuring 32 teams from 31 nations, including the United States, Taiwan, England and Germany.

Matchroom Sports has tapped Solar Sports as broadcast partner for this tournament which allows two teams for the host nation.

 

Roy Luarca, Philippine Daily Inquirer

RP rides Bata, Django victories to tie Int'l team in 9-ball showdown

MANILA, Philippines - It could have been a rabbit that was pulled off this magician's hat.

Efren "Bata" Reyes came to the country's rescue with an important win on Thursday that helped Team Philippines pull even with the International side in the QC Invasion: Quezon City-Philippines vs The World Grand "Villards" Showdown at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City.

Reyes, more popularly known as "the Magician", weaved his wand to take down Rodney Morris of the US 7-4.

The victory leveled the Ryder Cup-style tournament to six wins each for the locals and the foreigners.

Earlier, Francisco "Django" Bustamante escaped with a 7-6 cliffhanger over Raj Hundal of India, just after Warren Kiamco lost 7-4 to Thorsten Hohmann of Germany.

With a stalemate after 12 matches, the first side that gets to nine wins will take home the championship purse worth $40,000 (P1.96 million).

The next matches will be between Roberto Gomez versus Yang Ching-shun of Chinese-Taipei; a team event pitting Bustamante, Gomez Alex Pagulayan and Dennis Orcollo versus the quartet of Hundal, Yang, Mike Immonen of Finland and Wu Chia-Ching of Chinese-Taipei; and a singles match between Orcollo and Charlie Williams of the US.

If the showdown isn't decided after the Orcollo-Williams face-off, the next matches will feature another team duel between the group of Reyes, Kiamco, Ronnie Alcano and Lee Van Corteza and the foursome of Hohmann, Morris, Williams, and Fu Jianbo of China.

If the score is tied at 8, a team event will decide the winner, with the RP side represented by Alcano, Gomez, Kiamco and Pagulayan taking on Hundal, Morris, Williams and Wu.

 

- GMANews.TV