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Philippines, 25 Nov 2024 |
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3 PINOYS IN ROUND OF 8! Bustamantes Advance as Gomez Blanks Feijen By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Sat, 10 Nov 2007 QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES -- Roberto Gomez lived up to his nickname as the "Pinoy Superman" when he virtually annihilated Niels Feijen of the Netherlands 11-0 before a large crowd at the Araneta Coliseum who were rewarded for staying up past midnight with a magnificent display of pool. With the victory, which is believed to be some sort of a record, the 29 year old Gomez meets the only Chinese-Taipei survivor Kuo Po Cheng in the quarter finals where three out of four Filipinos who saw action in the round of sixteen, triumphed. Shortly after his victory, a smiling Gomez took a small Philippine flag handed to him by a fan and waved it for the cameras. Gomez told Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today right after his sensational victory that he hadn't played the Taiwanese before. He said he saw Kuo's match against the last American standing Corey Deuel, who was ousted, and indicated he was not too concerned. "I'll just play my game," said Gomez. The consensus in the media center among a couple of pool commentators was that Gomez was playing the best pool right now and could be a real threat should he get by Taipei's "Little Monster" who appeared to be a little nervous at the start of his match against Deuel who was running a fever. But once he settled down Kuo looked good. Francisco "Django" Bustamante used the soft break to perfection against 2004 champion Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan who didn't have a chance to roar since Bustamante hardly gave him a chance to get off his seat. Bustamante faces an acid test against England's Darryl Peach who himself used the soft break on TV Table No. 1 with precision to oust defending champion Ronnie Alcano but when switched to table 2 for the round of sixteen had some trouble before overcoming Harald Stolka of Germany. Earlier in the first match on Table 2, Joven Bustamante held his nerve down the stretch to score a come-from-behind 11-9 victory over Japanese hotshot Satoshi Kawabata in a game that was strewn with errors by both players. But when the Filipino needed to make a big shot, he rose to the occasion which meant that three Filipinos were in the round of eight while Chinese-Taipei had only one. "Django" Bustamante won the lag and quickly raced to a 2-0 lead behind a soft break that monotonously sent the wing ball into the corner right pocket with the 1-ball nicely positioned near the left side pocket. But when he attempted a difficult bank shot on the 2-ball which failed to drop into the side pocket, Pagulayan was off his seat in a flash for the first time and cleaned up effortlessly before a routine break and run-out made it two all. Pagulayan committed only one error and paid a terrible price for it as Bustamante, playing near flawless pool, broke and ran out six of the last seven racks and proved his class with a marvelous cross-side bank shot that eventually saw Pagulayan prepare his white towel of surrender, jump out of his seat and embrace Bustamante as he lined up for the last 9-ball. The two pool wizards showed genuine respect and affection for each other as the fans applauded in approval while Bustamante's wife was caught on camera smiling. Shortly afterwards Pagulayan was seen playfully wrestling with Bustamante's chubbily built son Francisco Jr whom he knows and obviously cares for which is another manifestation of the close friendship between the two Filipino superstars of pool. Bustamante, who told us that his "whole life revolves around pool", has made it clear that he wants to win the World Pool Championship which has eluded him so far. A triumph in Manila would be a fitting highlight to an illustrious career which he concedes "made me famous." If his showing against Pagulayan was any indication then he should be well on the way to fulfilling his dream. In the quarter finals Bustamante will meet the winner of the match between Britain's Darryl Peach who used the soft break to near perfection in ousting defending champion Ronnie Alcano and Germany's upset-conscious Harald Stolka. Bustamante played through the anguish of losing his little daughter a couple of days before entering the 2002 finals where he lost an emotional battle with Earl "The Pearl" Strickland but won the hearts of the fans at Cardiff. The 44 year old had his best year in 1998 when he was named US "Player of the Year" with a string of big victories. He teamed up with bosom buddy Efren "Bata" Reyes to win the inaugural World Cup of Pool, smashing the American tandem of Strickland and Rodney "The Rocket" Morris. Pagulayan has been on the World Pool winner?s rostrum before. Deprived of the crown jewel of pool in 2003, the small but deadly Filipino roared to the title the following year in Chinese-Taipei in a ferocious comeback and would like nothing better than to win the handsome trophy and the top prize of $100,000 once again. Pagulayan also won the US Open in 2005 and was runner-up in the World Pool Masters last year. Pagulayan showed his class by accepting defeat with unbelievable grace while Bustamante demonstrated his humility in victory. Joven Bustamante who is believed to be a distant relative of "Django" and carries a revered name in pool, carved a name for himself in this year?s WPC with a stunning victory over 2005 champion Wu Chia Ching who blamed his having to play in the recent Macau indoor games for disrupting his preparation and his focus. Bustamante proved his win was no fluke when he grit his teeth and fought back from a 4-6 deficit to eliminate Japan's last hope, Kawabata. Joven will meet former champion Mika "The Iceman" Immonen who defeated Alain Martel of Canada 11-8. The 29 year old Bustamante showed promise when he finished behind World Pool Champion Ronnie Alcano, who also won the World 8-ball Championship where Dennis Orcollo finished runner-up. Since then Bustamante?s best achievement was winning the Korea International Championship this year. Gomez, nicknamed "Pinoy Superman" because of his solid build is, like Pagulayan and Bustamante, 29 years old and part of the new wave of young guns in pool. The 2004 8-ball and 9-ball champion was also champion in the 2007 Norway Open. But his achievements couldn?t match his remarkable victory over former world champion and Chinese-Taipei hero Fong Pang Chao in the round of 32 on Thursday. His victory over Feijen was a repeat of his group stage victory which was nowhere near as dominating as yesterday. Another Englishman Karl Boyes defeated young Russian Konstantin Stepanov whose maze of errors cost him dearly. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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