‘Other’ Bustamante nips Taiwanese ace
By Musong R. Castillo
Inquirer
First Posted 03:52am (Mla time) 11/09/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- Unheralded Joven Bustamante booted out former champion Wu Chia-ching of Taiwan Thursday to keep Philippine title hopes soaring again in the $400,000 World Pool Championship at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
With defending champion Ronnie Alcano and 1999 winner Efren “Bata” Reyes crashing out in the Last 32 late Wednesday, Bustamante became an instant hero by nipping Wu, 10-8, to reach the Last 16 in the company of his more famous compatriot Alex Pagulayan.
Ignored at the start despite finishing third in the World 8-Ball last year, the rookie Bustamante booked the biggest win of his budding career in eliminating the 2005 champion Wu, who became the fourth former winner to get the upset ax.
Pagulayan, the 2004 champion, escaped the rash of upsets and advanced with a 10-2 victory over Luis Condo of Australia.
Bustamante’s victory came as a whiff of exhilarating air to a Philippine delegation that was battered by the early departure of Alcano, who lost to Englishman Daryl Peach, 10-6, and Reyes, who bowed to European No. 1 Konstantin Stepanov of Russia, 10-5, in the very first round of the knockout phase.
What started out as a promising Philippine campaign ended disastrously as just five local hopes, from 13 who made the Last 64, made it to the next round.
“I’ve had some good tournament wins, but because of the situation -- (Alcano being the) reigning world champion, big (hometown) crowd and great venue -- this has to be one of the best,” said Peach in a press conference.
Stepanov claimed another Filipino scalp Thursday night, outclassing Jeffrey de Luna, 10-4.
It was not only the talented Filipino favorites who were forced to hit the showers.
Consensus favorite and reigning US Open king Alex Boening of the United States also fell, taking a 10-8 loss at the hands of Hungarian Vilmos Foldes.
Oliver Ortmann, the 1995 winner from Germany, was also shown the door by Kuo Po-cheng of Taiwan, 10-7.
“The (hometown) crowd expected me to win because of what happened to them (Reyes and Alcano),” the 29-year-old Bustamante told a press conference in Filipino. “I was so nerve-wracked out there because it was my first time to play in the TV table.”
“I feel great. I just hope that I can keep playing like that,” Pagulayan, who enters his matches and leaves them in a pin-stripped suit, said.
He is lined up for a possible collision with Francisco “Django” Bustamante, who was playing the Netherlands’ Nick Van de Berg at presstime.
Bustamante actually blew a 4-0 lead against the hard-breaking 18-year-old Wu and had to come back from a 6-7 deficit while battling an obvious case of nerves in the last two racks.
Trailing 9-8 and after dropping the yellow 1 on the break, Wu had to push out because the blue 2 was well hidden behind the 6. And instead of playing the shot, Bustamante gave the honor back to the Taiwanese, who put him in jail with a brilliant cut.
But Bustamante, who served as a “house pro” in a pool joint in Kuwait from 2004 before settling back here early this year, hit a cut so thin to drop the No. 2 in the top right pocket while shattering a cluster at mid-table to make it wide open.
“I’m not that disappointed,” Wu said through an interpreter. “I never had the chance to regain my confidence and form coming into this tournament because our (pool association in Taiwan) forced me to play in the Asian Indoors in Macau.”
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