DJANGO EXACTS REVENGE, WINS PBB FACE OFF SERIES

Manila, Philippines---FILIPINO pool wizard Francisco "Django" Bustamante squeaked past Taiwanese Pin Yi-ko to avenged the loss of his fellow Puyat Sports player to win the Philippine Bigtime Billiards (PBB) Face Off Series late Saturday (February 25) at the Pagcor Airport Casino in Parañaque City.

The 48-year-old pool legend showed vintage form to pull off a come-from-behind win against Ko, 9-7, in the winner's break format, dubbed as Philippines versus Asia,  jointly organized by the Mega Sports World and BRKHRD Corp and aired live over Solar Sports, Sky Channel 70 and Destiny Channel 34, and also aired worldwide through the Internet, live streaming at www.megasportsworld.com andwww.philippinebigtimebilliards.com.

The Tarlac City cue master, one of the top players of sportsman/businessman Aristeo "Putch" Puyat, acknowledged Philippine Billiards God Father, trailed, 7-5, before securing the next four racks to lift Team Philippines into a 1-all deadlock against Team Asia.

Actually, the two-time World Junior Champion Ko, took a 3-1, to 6-4 commanding lead until Bustamante fought back from the grave.

"In the start of the match I was so nervous when Ko took a 3-1, 6-4 to 7-5 lead," said Bustamante who reigned supreme in the 2010 WPA World Pool Championships (World 9-Ball), defeating Taiwanese “The Little" Monster” Kuo Po-cheng, 13-7, in the final was held in Doha, Qatar.

"However i didn't lose hope because of the winner's break format. Maybe it can turn around the situation but i need to play solid," he added.

Last February 18, Ko downed Filipino pool maestro Efren "Bata" Reyes, 9-4, for the first win of Team Asia in the Philippine Bigtime Billiards introduces a fresh new format for 2012.

The PBB Face Off series backed up by Sorsogon Province Sports Patron Philip Escudero of Malungai Life Oil, Airport Casino Filipino, Hermes Sports Bar, I-Bar, Golden Leaf Restaurant, Bugsy Promotions, Mandarin Sky Sea Food Restaurant, Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) and The Philippine Star 
resumes with a match pitting 2012 World 8-Ball Champion Jung Lin Chang of Chinese-Taipei against Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza on March 3 and Chang versus Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo on March 10.-Marlon Bernardino-

WORLD 8-BALL: BIADO, GOMEZ JOINS 7 OTHERS PHL BETS IN LAST 64

REIGNING National Open champion Carlo "The Black Tiger"Biado defeated Francisco Diaz-Pizarro of Spain, 7-2, while countryman and fellow Bugsy Promotion ace Roberto "Pinoy Superman"Gomez crushed Luke Rollinson of Great Britain, 7-3, respectively in Group M to salvage a spot in the Last 64 of the 2012 World 8-Ball Championship at the Fujairah Tennis and Country Club in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates yesterday.


Raymund Faraon also breezed through the main draw as he ripped Ahmed Al Hosani of UAE, 7-1, and Nick Van den Berg of the Netherlands,7-4, in Group N, while Demosthenes "Plong-Plong"Pulpul held off Albin Ouschan of Austria,7-6, in a do-or-die match in Group J as well Elmer Haya routed Yousfi Chaouki of MAR, 7-5, in Group D and Elvis Calasang smashed Al Howri Hanni of UAE,7-5,in Group F.


A total of 9 Filipinos, headed by defending champion Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza and Joven "Snooker Specialist" Alba, made it to the Last 64, a single round, race-to-11 knockout format, which offered a whooping $156,000 total prize. The winner will receive $20,000 cash purse.


Orcollo takes on Nasser Al Mujaibel of Kuwait in the round-of-64; Corteza squares off with Lee Chenman of Hongkong; Alba vs Ahmad Jallad of Jordan; Biado vs Haya; Gomez vs Mario He of Austria;Pulpul vs Hwang of Korea and Faraon vs Ko Pin-yi of Taiwan and Calasang vs Yukio Akagariyama of Japan.    -Marlon Bernardino-

ORCOLLO SET TO DEFEND WORLD 8-BALL TITLE

QUEZON CITY, Philippines – World No. 1 player Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo will begin his bid to retain his title when the 2012 World 8-Ball Championships gets underway on February 12 to 17 at the Fujairah Exhibition Center in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.

"I'm hoping to defend my title… I need to play hard. Every player has a chance to be a champion," said the former fisherman from Bislig, Surigao del Sur whose local and international campaign backed up by Malungai Life Oil, ACCEL, Hermes Sports Bar, Mandarin Sky Sea Food Restaurant,Golden Leaf Restaurant, I-Bar, BRKHRD Corp., Bugsy Promotions and Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP).


Last year, Orcollo, Bugsy Promotions’ top player, defeated Niels "The Terminator" Feijen of the Netherlands, 10-3, in the finals to cement his status of one of the world's best pool players and run away with the $40,000 championship purse.

Orcollo’s stirring performance duplicated the World 8-Ball title conquests made by compatriots Efren "Bata" Reyes in 2004 and Ronato "Volcano" Alcano in 2007.

The only World 8-Ball crowns that the Filipino pool champions failed to win were those in 2005 (won by Taiwanese Wu Chia-ching), 2008 (German Ralf Souquet) and 2010 (Englishman Karl Boyes). The event was not held in 2006 and 2009.

"We have a stronger lineup and I'm confident that we can win the prestigious crown," said Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) co-founder Ceferino "Perry" Mariano, top honcho of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions.

Also campaigning in the 2012 World 8-Ball are Carlo "The Black Tiger" Biado and Roberto "Pinoy Superman" Gomez also from Bugsy Promotions and Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza of the Jonathan Sy's Negros Billiards Stable.

Meanwhile, Orcollo and boxing champion Nonito Donaire Jr.  are co-winners of the prestigious Athlete of the Year honor to be feted by the country’s oldest media organization, composed of editors and sportswriters of the different national broadsheets and tabloids when the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards Night gets going on March 3 at the Manila Hotel along Roxas Boulevard in Manila. Marlon Bernardino