Friday, June 22, 2007 Django sizzles at Hard Times
BILLIARD legends Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Jose “Amang” Parica are on the right track as they moved past Round 4 to lead 72 players of the Hard Times Summer Jamboree 9-Ball Challenge in California, USA.
Denied by compatriot Alex Pagulayan in the World Summit of Pool early this week, Bustamante displayed his sharpness that made him one of the celebrated pool players around the world.
After a first round bye, Bustamante defeated John Schmidt, 9-6, in the second round then scored an equally sharp 9-6 win over Deo Alpajora in the third.
In the fourth, Joey Gebron did not pose any problem as Bustamante wiped him out, 9-0. Bustamante will play Jeff Gregory next.
Parica, on the other hand, started his run with a 9-2 win over Feras Qaddoura on the second round after taking a bye on the first.
But after his 9-1 win over David Olsen on the third, Parica got a tough match against Arturo Rivera in the fourth before the Filipino wizard pulled a thrilling 9-7 win to advance to the next round against Gerardo Jamito.
Marlon Manalo, however, was not as lucky.
After taking a bye on the first round and hurdling past two players in the next two rounds, Manalo found himself on the verge of elimination as he was relegated to the losers’ bracket.
Manalo scored a 9-0 win over Tommy Toogood in the second round then outlasted Ike Runnels, 9-8, in the third before losing to Louie Ullrich, 4-9, in the fourth. (RCM)
