THE Philippines’ fast rising cue artist Joven Bustamante failed to stop Taiwanese dominance of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour as he succumbed to the defending overall champion Chang Jun-ling 11-5 in the finals to settle for the runner-up in the Opening leg of the tournament at the Taipei Gymnasium yesterday.
A surprise finalist, having made it to the tournament as a wildcard before stringing up a series of impressive wins to sweep his way into the title-match, Bustamante ran into a number of errors and never recovered from them.
From the 5-1 deficit after winning the lag and the opening break earlier in the game, the 29-year-old Bustamante fought gallantly to win three successive games and moved closer at 6-5 mark.
But that was his last stand before luck abandoned him, leaving him with one error after another in the racks that followed, allowing Chang to sweep five racks to retain his title and keep the Taiwanese domination of the annual six-city Asian series.
Challenge
Chang booked the second finals slot with him after defeating fellow Taiwanese Yang Ching-shun in semifinals while Bustamante beat former World Pool runner-up Chang Pei-wei, 9-4, in the opening game and won a come-from-behind win, 9-7, in a pulsating game against Taiwanese teenage pool sensation and the reigning World junior champion Ko Pin Yi in their semifinals match the other day.
Though he did not earn the position to be the first Filipino to win in this Asian series after it was named Guinness Tour last year (the Taiwanese swept all the six legs in 2007), but he is the only Filipino to won against the Taiwanese players in the series, according to Bugsy Promotions head Perry Mariano.
It was still a great feat for Bustamante considering that he made it to the tournament through the organizers’ invitation, which came only after a slot in the 24-man field was left vacant following the refusal of China to send a player for political reason.
In an email sent by the BMPAP, Bustamante said, “I really wanted to win, but there’s too much pressure and I kind of fell into it,” said Bustamante, a stalwart of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions of businessman Perry Mariano, whose stint is also supported by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP).
“Being a first-timer in this series, I’m very proud of making it to the finals. I’ll just have to go back, practice hard, and if I would get a chance to play again, I’ll do my best, and I think I’ll be better,” he added.
Mistakes
Bugsy Promotions head Perry Mariano yesterday told Sun.Star Cebu that Bustamante’s seven errors in the game led him to lose against Chang.
“Joven was unlucky. In the entire game, If the Taiwanese makes a dry break, the ball hides, but if he is the one who makes a dry break, the ball is in the open,” said Mariano.
“With the outcome of the game, Filipinos should wake up and must have a credible association handling grassroots and training program, not just to make events for pocket, this is just to awaken us,” Mariano added.
Though missing the the crown, Bustamante, however, is satisfied over avenging the loss of Marlon Manolo and Jeff de Luna against Ko earlier.
“I’m still satisfied with my performance, and another thing that I’m happy about is that with my win against Ko Pin-yi, I avenged the loss of my two countrymen,” said Bustamante. (NSM)
