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

Bustamante, Gallego in quarterfinal duel

BACOLOD CITY—Joven Bustamante started hot and held fort on Friday, forging a quarterfinals duel with local favorite Ramil Gallego in the First Senate President Manny Villar Cup Bacolod leg at the Garden Royal function hall of Goldenfields Commercial Complex here.

The 29-year-old Bustamante zoomed to a 9-0 lead before dumping Elmer Haya, 11-5, while Gallego pocketed six straight racks en route to a similar 11-5 thumping of Japanese Kenji Taguchi in the $37,750-event presented by Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng RP sports.

Sustaining the form that carried him past former World Cup of Pool titlist Fu Jianbo of China in the first round, Bustamante cleaned up the first four racks and was never threatened by Haya, a homegrown talent.

“It was a good start as I ran out the first four racks and it was the key,” said Bustamante, a member of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions of businessman Perry Mariano, in Filipino.

Fired up by the gallery, Gallego, who hails from Fortunetown of this progressive city, built a 9-2 lead to send Taguchi packing home.

Gallego, a frequent campaigner in Japan, thus moved three steps closer to duplicating his win in the Bulacan leg of the series organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines.

For reaching the last eight, Bustamante and Gallego assured themselves of at least $1,000 each in the four-day competition.

In late matches Thursday, former double world champion Ronnie Alcano squeaked past unheralded Noel Caro, 11-9, to avoid the fate that befell current world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo.

Unable to sink the shots that mattered, Orcollo yielded to Rodolfo Luat, 11-7, joining former world champion Alex Pagulayan and Davao leg titlist Robert Gomez at the exits.

The 33-year-old Alcano is slated to face Luat in a late quarterfinal match yesterday.

Other first round results saw Francisco “Django” Bustamante rout lone female entry Rubilen Amit, 11-3; Cebu leg champion Gandy Valle down Alabang leg champion Warren Kiamco, 11-7; Lee Van Corteza subdue Chinese Wang Ming, 11-9; Michael Feliciano beat Japanese Kenichi Uchigaki, 11-7; John Rebong thwart Carlo Biado, 11-7; and Ronnie Aying repulse Janno Mazon, 11-6.

Efren “Bata” Reyes was tangling with 16-year-old sensation Johann Chua at presstime.

‘Biggies’ in Villar Cup

Expect an even more exciting and more competitive pool action as the First Senate President Manny Villar Cup goes international for its fifth leg slated from November 13 to 16 at the Garden Royal Function Hall of Goldenfields Commercial Complex in Bacolod City.

After four highly successful stops, where the cream of the country’s billiards’ crop battled for supremacy, the island-hopping series, presented by Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports, has opened its door for some of the world’s top cue artists.

“We want to make this tournament even more competitive, more challenging to our top players, while giving our young players the experience of playing in the international level,” said Senate President Manny Villar during the press launch Wednesday at the Bacolod Goldenfields’ Garden Royal.

“This is part of my commitment of helping sports, especially those where we Filipinos can excel in and dominate, like billiards,” added Villar, now considered as the biggest benefactor of Philippine billiards.

Former World Cup of Pool titlist Fu Jianbo of China leads the visiting forces, who will mix it up with 24 local bets for the coveted title and the $15,000 top prize at stake in this four-day event, organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines in cooperation with the city government of Bacolod, led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia, and the Negros Billiards Stable of businessman Jonathan Sy and sponsored by Camella Communities.

Besides Fu, the other foreign entries in this tournament, also dubbed as “the Bacolod International VILLARDS Festival,” are former Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata of Japan and Christian Johannessen of Norway, among others.

“Mas mabigat nga ang laban ngayon, pero tingin ko kami-kami pa rin ang magkikita sa finals,” said pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes, reprising one of his famous lines.

Reyes will once again lead the local charge, along with fellow former world champions Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, reigning world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Lee Van Corteza and previous Villar Cup leg winners Kiamco (Alabang), Gandy Valle (Cebu), Ramil Gallego (Bulacan) and Roberto Gomez (Davao).

Also in the 32-man field are Carlo Biado and Ricky Zerna. The rest of the slot will be filled through wild-card entries and a series of qualifying tournaments slated from November 8 to 11 at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar in Bacolod City.

Besides the international invitational division, there will also be the Executive Class and Amateur divisions for both men and women, where almost half-a-million pesos cash prize is at stake.

Eight Billiard Players Return for U.S. Open including Bustamante

Only eight players are still alive at the 33rd Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, held this week in Chesapeake, VA.

Friday’s elimination rounds began with Lee Van Corteza sending 22-year-old Oscar Dominguez home 11-6, while fellow countryman Warren Kiamco ousted Tony Chohan 11-3. Also, Donnie Mills continued his winning ways, eliminating Canada’s Tyler Edey 11-8, with Corey “Cash Money” Deuel defeating Larry Nevel 11-7.

The 1 p.m. round featured winners’-bracket matches. Reigning 9-ball champion Daryl Peach went up against Johnny Archer in one of the event’s lengthiest matches, 4 hours and 40 minutes. It was close throughout, going to 9-all. Peach almost scratched on the break, but Archer cleared that table to take the hill. Archer jumped the cue ball off the table on his next break, but Peach hooked himself on the 4 ball and was forced to jump, almost making the 9. With only five balls left on the table, Archer cleared the table easily for the 11-9 win.

Rodney Morris had a tight match against Thorsten Hohmann. The score went all the way to 10-9 in Morris’ favor when he scratched on the break and screamed. Hohmann cleared to make it hill-hill and then engaged Morris in a lengthy safety battle on the 1 ball. Finally Hohmann left Morris a shot, and Morris jacked up and fired in the 1 ball to clear the remainder of the balls for the 11-10 win.

Mika Immonen grabbed an early lead in his match against Jose Parica and never relinquished it, winning 11-8. In the last winners’-side match, Francisco Bustamante never seemed to show up in his match against Ronnie Alcano. At one point he was down 9-4 but managed to take two racks before Alcano won their match 11-6.

In the 3 p.m. elimination rounds, Corey Deuel demonstrated serious prowess over Francisco Bustamante. Though Bustamante had few errors, they were important ones, while Deuel didn’t always make his position but made some excellent shots to win 11-7.

Hohmann finally ended Donnie Mills’ run at the title after defeating him 11-9, while Corteza sent fellow Filipino Parica home 11-5. Additionally, Kiamco dealt Peach an 11-3 defeat in their elimination match.

In the evening rounds, winners’-bracket matches will be Johnny Archer versus Mika Immonen, and Rodney Morris versus Ronnie Alcano. In the one-loss side, Thorsten Hohmann will play Corey Deuel, while Warren Kiamco plays Lee Van Corteza.

Bustamante Busts Appleton

The winners’-bracket matches kicked off the evening session of the 33rd Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, leaving 16 players undefeated to return Thursday evening.

Recently crowned 10-ball champion Darren “Dynamite” Appleton was sent west by crowd favorite Francisco Bustamante after their winners’-bracket match. Appleton took the first two racks but lost a safety battle in the third game, giving Bustamante the momentum to forge ahead 5-2. Put to the test, Appleton tied up the score at 5 apiece. They traded the next few racks to make it 7-6 in Bustamante’s favor, and then “Django” pocketed the 2-9 combo. A miss by Appleton on an easy 1 ball in the next rack made it 9-6 Bustamante. Rattled, Appleton did not win another game, and Bustamante won 11-6.

A slow start did not bode well for Shannon Daulton in his match against Filipino phenom Lee Van Corteza. In the first rack Daulton missed hitting a very tough 9 ball by a hair, and from there it was a slow grind, with no player having more than a two-rack lead. Finally the score reached 10-9 in Corteza’s favor after he played a 2-9 combo to reach the hill, and Corteza swept the last rack as well to win the match.

A strong opening bid of 5-0 for Josh Lewis led to surprising results in his match against the 22-year-old Oscar Dominguez. Dominguez took advantage of Lewis’ empty breaks to bring the score to 6-3 and then knot the score at 8-all. Finally it seesawed to double-hill, at which point Lewis missed the 1 ball, which was hanging in the corner. Dominguez had an easy run through the 7 ball but was left with a tricky shot on the 8, but he hit it perfectly and won the match 11-10.

Former U.S. Open champion Jeremy “Double J” Jones was sent to the left side after his match against Sam Monday. Down throughout the match, at 9-7, Jones snookered himself on the 3 ball to hand that game to Monday, who then broke and ran out the final rack, winning 11-7.

Virginia State champion Eric Moore played in the one-loss side Wednesday against Florida’s Hunter Lombardo and came out ahead. Moore suffered a second-round loss to Larry Nevel 11-3 and has been making a comeback from the west side, defeating Rick Hamlin 11-2. His match against Lombardo was one-sided—Moore had a 10-1 lead before Lombardo put three more racks under his belt. At 10-4, Lombardo missed a thin cut on the 2 ball, and Moore cleared for the win.

Orcollo-Bustamante nails WC semis slot

Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Dennis Orcollo overwhelmed dark horse Japan, 9-2, Saturday to advance to the semifinals of the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool at the Outland Nightclub in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The veteran Filipino pair, teaming up for the first time, proved just too powerful for the Japanese pair of Doha Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata and Naoyuki Oi.

They now need two more wins to rule the $250,000 event.

The second-seeded RP team was slated to face the sixth-ranked United States pair of former world 10-ball titlist Shane van Boening and Rodney Morris Sunday night for a final slot.

The Americans advanced after nipping Austria’s Jasmin Ouschan and Martin Kempter, 9-7, in their quarterfinal encounter.

The other Final Four match pits defending champion China against No. 5 England.

The Chinese pair of Fu Jianbo and Li Hewen demolished No. 9 Italy (Fabio Petroni and Bruno Muratore), 9-2, while the English tandem of reigning world 9-ball champion Darryl Peach and Mark Gray upended the fourth-seeded German pair of Ralf Souquet and Thomas Engert, 9-7.

The semifinal winners will advance to the race-to-11 title duel, also slated Sunday (Monday, 1 a.m. Manila time). The winning team will receive $60,000.

Just as in their previous wins over Denmark (8-2) in the opening round and Russia (8-3) in the Last 16, Bustamante and Orcollo needed just a couple of racks to get into the groove.

The Filipinos surrendered the lag and the first rack to the Japanese but won the next three to seize the lead.

After the Japanese won the fifth frame, Bustamante of Puyat Sports and Orcollo of Bugsy Promotions swept the next six racks to clinch the win and surpass the country’s quarterfinal finish here last year.

It’s the first time the Philippines will meet the US in this event since 2006, when Bustamante and Efren “Bata” Reyes trounced Morris and former two-time world 9-ball king Earl Strickland, 13-5, in the finals of the event’s inaugural edition in Newport Centre, Wales.

Bustamante, Orcollo test Danish duo

Team Villards-Philippines’ Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Dennis Orcollo hope to duck the upset storm that already claimed a couple of high-seeded teams right in the opening day as they take on an unheralded pair from Denmark on Thursday to open their bid in the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool in Rotterdam, Holland.

The Filipino duo, seeded second in the field of 32, collides with the tandem of No. 31 seeds Martin Larsen and Kasper Kristoffersen in the last scheduled match of the opening round of this $250,000 tournament.

“The field is very tough, and that any team can beat the others,” assessed Bustamante. “That’s why we need to come up with our best right from the start of the match to avoid the upset, just like what happened to those two teams.”

Bustamante was referring to the fate suffered by one of the host country’s squad and last year’s runner-up Finland, which succumbed to their lower-ranked opponents.

The No. 3 seed Holland A of world No. 2 Niels Feijen and Nick van den Berg lost to No. 30 Belgium of little-known Noel Bruynooghe and Serge Das, 8-3.

The No. 8 Finland pair, made up of former world champion Mika Immonen and Markus Juva dropped an 8-4 decision to the Korean duo of Jeong Young-hwa and Kim Woong-dae.

“A race-to-eight match is very short, so you need to have a strong start,” said world No. 1 Orcollo. “ Hangga’t maari nga ‘wag mo nang patirahin yung kalaban, dahil baka pag binigay mo ‘yung mesa hindi ka na makabalik (If it’s possible, you should not let your opponents get to the table because you might not have the chance to get it back).”

The campaign of Orcollo and Bustamante is supported by Senate President Manny Villar and the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP).

Other opening round matches saw defending champion and top seed China hold off No. 32 India, 8-6; No. 5 England, led by reigning world 9-ball titlist Darryl Peach, beat Malta, 8-4; No. 9 Italy blast Peru, 8-4; and No. 16 Switzerland prevail over Hong Kong, 8-5.

A team needs to win five straight matches to become the third holder of the World Cup of Pool crown.

Bustamante and Efren “Bata” Reyes topped the inaugural edition in Newport Centre, Wales two years ago over USA’s Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris, 13-5. They lost to China in last year’s quarterfinals, 6-9.

China’s Li He-wen and Fu Jian-bo nipped Finland’s Mika Immonen and Markus Juva, 11-10, for the title last year, also in Holland.

Bustamante and Abraham Co-Champions at Blaze Stop

One Shot Billiards hosted Blaze 9 Ball Tour Sunday August 31, 2008.  A strong field came out player’s like Francisco Bustamante, Matt Krah, Eddie Abraham, and  Mike Fingers to name a few.

Leading the top half of the bracket was Matt Krah with wins over Ben Sadowski 7-4, Jose Burgos 7-0, and Noel Bensurto 7-2.  Leading  the bottom half of the bracket was Francisco Bustamante with wins over Mike Seas 7-2, Eddie Abraham 7-4  Playing for the hot seat was Mat Krah Vs Francisco Bustamante this was a great match that went to the hill when it was all said and done it was Francisco Bustamante winning the match 7-6 and sending Matt Krah to the one lost side.  Waiting for Matt Krah on the one lost side was Eddie Abraham, this too was a great match that went to the hill but it was Eddie Abraham with the win 7-6.

Playing in the finals was Eddie Abraham Vs Francisco Bustamante  both players are co-champions of the tournament.

ACKDO Supports QC Vs The World Grand Billiards Showdown

The QC-Philippines vs the World Grand Billiards Showdown received another boost with the Association of Clubs, Karaoke and Disco Operators (ACKDO) throwing its all-out support to the much-anticipated event slated December 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City .

With promoting Quezon City as the country’s sports tourism capital, ACKDO did not think twice in backing the project when approached by its chief proponent, City Council Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton.

“We are very happy to be part of this big event. Entertainment is one of the premier tourist attractions here in Quezon City, so we in the industry are giving our all-out support to this project, which in more than one way will also benefit us,” said ACKDO secretary-general Amil Yap.

ACKDO has been supporting a number of sports events, including the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP)'s Search for the New Billiards Idol series.

Also known as the “City of Stars ”, Quezon City boasts of having the biggest and liveliest entertainment spots in the country.

Already home to major television broadcasting networks, including giants ABS-CBN and GMA-7, Quezon City also houses dozens of restaurants, bars, night clubs, massage parlors, KTVs and the likes.

Pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes banners the eight-man Team Q.C.-Philippines, which will pit prowess against a selection of topnotch cue artists from other countries in this three-day competition supported by the Quezon City Government led by Mayor Sonny Belmonte, QC Tourism Council headed by chairman Raffy Chico, and BMPAP with Solar Sports, RPN and the Philippine Star as media partners.

Besides Reyes, the other members of the Team QC Philippines are fellow former world champions Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, reigning world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza and Warren Kiamco.

They will go up against a foreign team also led by three former world titlists in Chia-Ching Wu of Chinese-Taipei, Mika Immonen of Finland and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany. The other players of Team World are 2006 Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata of Japan , Ching-Shun Yang of Chinese-Taipei, and Charlie William and Rodney Morris of the United States and another top European player.

They will compete for the $40,000 winner purse.

Bustamante on QC-RP faces The World

Billiards superstars Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante will banner the Philippines’ charge against a selection of top foreign cue artists in the 9-Ball Grand Billiards Showdown Quezon City will host from Dec. 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall.

Reyes and Bustamante will lead an eight-man squad against eight equally-talented foreign pool masters in a team tournament where the winning group gets the ,000 (R1,800,000) cash prize.

Reyes and Bustamante will be joined by Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, reigning world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza and Warren Kiamco in the dream billiards match dubbed as Quezon City-Philippines vs the World.

"This event will not only showcase the talents our players but promote Quezon City as sports hub of the Philippines," said event organizer and QC Councilor Ariel Inton during yesterday’s formal launching of the tournament at the Mario’s Restaurant in Tomas Morato.

The three-day event, which is a joint project of Inton, Quezon City Sports Tourism Council led by Raffy Chico and Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) headed by Perry Mariano, is aimed at promoting the Quezon City as the billiards destination of the world.

Except for Bustamante, all members of Team Philippines were on hand to display their solid ground against their equally competitive opponents who will be coming to town in the next few months.

The foreign invasion will be spearheaded by Finish Mika Immonem, German Thorsten Hohmann and former European No. 1 Russian Konstantin Stepanov.

Also joining the foreign squad are Americans Charlie Williams and Rodney Morris, Taiwanese Yung Ching Shunand Wu Chia Ching and 2006 Asian Games gold medalist Japanese Sotoshi Kawabata.

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte and Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista were also in attendance to add glitter to the star-studded gathering which saw the formal unveiling of the logo of the tournament.

"I’m honored to meet our world champions and some of them pa nga ay legendary na tulad in Efren," said Belmonte, who also signed a Memorandum of Agreement that formally accepted the city’s hosting of the event.

"Dito sa Quezon City, tanggap na tanggap ang billiards dahil dito mismo nakatira ang mga billiard players natin," said Belmonte, boasting that reigning World No. 1 Orcullo was a recipient of last year’s Outstanding QC Citizen award.

"Unstoppable ang Quezon City at ang billiards. Hindi na mapi-pigilan ang pag-unlad. We hope to make our city the sports capital," Belmonte said.

For his part, Bautista cited the honor and pride the billiards players bring to the country and even thanked Reyes for his exploits in the past that made the country known to the world of billiards.

BMPAP co-founder Jonathan Sy, BMPAP president Atty. Vic Rodriguez, Solar Sports Vice president for Marketing Jude Torcuato, Quezon City Councilors Toto Medalla and Vincent Belmonte, members of the Quezon City Chamber of Commerce, heads of the Quezon City-Red Cross Chapter were also present.

Django routed in New Jersey straight-pool finals

Francisco “Django" Bustamante lost to Neils Feijen of The Netherlands, 200-11, in the championship round of the World 14.1 Straight Pool Championships held Saturday in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

Feijen stormed to an 80-0 lead and never looked back to win $14,000. Bustamante settled for the runner-up purse worth $6,000 (P277,740).

To reach the finals, Bustamante defeated Danny Harriman of the US 200-137, Huidji See of The Netherlands 200-141 and Jasmin Ouschan of Austria 200-148 in that order.

The object of straight pool, also called the 14.1 game, is to pocket as many balls as possible to reach the required number of points. One ball is equivalent to one point.

Final Four Set at Straight Pool Championships including Bustamante

The final four are set at the Predator Straight Pool Championships at the Hilton Hotel in East Brunswick, NJ. Niels Feijen will join Nick Van Den Berg, while the Philippines’ Francisco Bustamante and Jasmin Ouschan meet in a final single-elimination round of play on Saturday to determine the champion.

Bustamante was the first to make his way to the final four with an early evening 200-41 victory over Huidj See. The remaining matches played out simultaneously, with Feijen facing USA’s John Schmidt, Thorsten Hohmann versus Nick Van Den Berg and Jasmin Ouschan, continuing an unlikely streak of victories, playing the number-one-seed Oliver Ortmann.

Ahead by two balls at 184-182, Schmidt allowed a moment of pique to cost him the victory, not to mention some cold hard cash. After missing a shot that he presumed signaled victory for his opponent, Schmidt swept his stick across the table and conceded the match to Feijen. Van den Berg was next. He and Hohmann were rarely more than 20 or so balls apart until the score hovered in the area of the 120s, when Van den Berg took repeated command of the racks and finished it at 200-126.

World Straight Pool Final Sixteen

Phase two is complete at the Predator World Straight Pool Championship and the field has now been narrowed to just sixteen players.

The rest of the event is single elimination and all prior losses have been forgiven.

At the time of this writing, Oliver Ortmann had already defeated Thomas Engert 200-42 and was comfortably awaiting the winner between Mika Immonen and Jasmin Ouschan.

Other matches for today are Huidji See vs Corey Deuel, Danny Harriman vs Francisco Bustamante, Ignacio Chavez vs Niels Feijen, John Schmidt vs Mike Dechaine, Ralf Souquet vs Thorsten Hohmann and Nick Van Den Berg vs Dominic Jentsch.

Bustamante first Tickets Punched to Final 16

For any player who lost the first match in the bracket stage of the Predator World 14.1 Championship, the format is not single elimination — as was first reported.

The field of 32 is currently drawn on a double-elimination bracket. The event will then go to a knockout format once 16 players remain — eight from the winners side, eight from the one-loss side.

As play resumes on Friday, three players have already moved into the round of 16. Corey Deuel easily advanced with wins over Steve Lipsky, 150-3, and Raj Hundal, 150-104.

Thorsten Hohmann and Mika Immonen, two of a handful of European favorites, also won their first two matches in bracket play.

Nick Van den Berg and Niels Feijen, who remained unbeaten through group play, stand just one win away from advancing. And Oliver Ortmann will square off against Mike Dechaine, with the winner moving into the 16-player field.

The biggest surprise in the 32-player bracket has to be the early departure of Johnny Archer. After going 7-0 in the round-robin stage, Archer was sent to the one-loss side by Raj Hundal, 150-89, then sent packing by Lipsky, 150-141.
American hopefuls Mike Sigel, John Schmidt, Allen Hopkins are still alive on the one-loss side, while Danny Harriman faces Francisco Bustamante on the right side.