Four Pinoys stay alive in World 8-ball

Only four Filipinos led by the powerful tandem of Francisco "Django" Bustamante and Efren "Bata" Reyes stayed in the hunt for the US$500,000 (Php26.5 million) top prize of the US$3 million IPT World Open 8-Ball Championship at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada.

Joining Bustamante and Reyes into round five where the survivors are divided into three groups of six players each were Dennis Orcollo and Alex Pagulayan. They are already assured of at least US$36,000.

The undefeated Bustamante kept his furious assault by coming up with another clean 5-0 sweep in the fourth round.

Bustamante drubbed fellow countryman Antonio Lining, 8-3, and then trounced American Danny Harriman. He went on to demolish Marko Lohtander of Finland and Tony Drago of Malta via similar 8-1 decision before eking out a 8-7 cliffhanger over Oliver Ortmann of Germany.

Lining couldn't pull through the next phase with only two wins yesterday against Harriman, 8-4, and Drago, 8-7. Aside from Bustamante, he also lost to Lohtander, 3-8, and Ortman, 4-8.

Reyes, on the other hand, marched forward with victories over Americans Charles Bryant, 8-2, Rodney Morris, 8-3, and Jason Miller, 8-6, and Ben Davies of Wales, 8-3. His only setback of the day was dealt by American Charles Williams, 6-8.

Orcollo and Pagulayan dropped only two of five games in the fourth round that saw two more Pinoys Jose "Amang" Parica and Ronnie Alcano proceeding into the exit door.

Orcollo got past Parica, 8-6, before dispatching Michael Schmidt of Germany, 8-6, and Yannick Beaufils of France, 8-2. That bailed the Surigao-native shotmaker out of danger after incurring back-to-back defeats to Karl Boyes of England, 1-8, and Thomas Engert of Germany, 3-8.

Parica only scored one victory, an 8-1 rout of Boyes. He floundered in his next four matches on the way to kissing his title bid goodbye. Pagulayan nailed two straight wins against Alcano, 8-4, and American Larry Nevel, 8-2. He lost to Mika Immonen of Finland, 7-5, and Fabio Petroni of Italy, 7-5, but rebounded with an 8-5 whipping of American Corey Deuel.

Lady luck did not smile on Alcano this time as he posted only one win against Immonen, 8-5.

Despite being handed with the exit slip, Lining, Parica and Alcano still have something to cheer for as they will receive US$25,000 each as consolation prize for reaching that far in the week-long poolfest.