Django bags second title in US Tour

Francisco "Django" Bustamante defeated European champion Ralf Souquet Friday to rule the Las Vegas Invitational 9-Ball Championship, the final stop of his pre-Asian Games tour of the US pool circuit.

Bustamante defeated the German ace in straight sets, 5-3, 5-2, 5-4, to win the title and $7,000 prize after disposing of former US Open champion Rodney Morris in the semifinals. Souquet reached the finals with a victory over Allen Hopkins.

During their brief stint in the US, Bustamante and Efren "Bata" Reyes won three titles and $67,000 among themselves. They now set to come home and prepare for the 14th Asian Games scheduled Sept. 29 to Oct. 14 in Busan, South Korea.

Bustamante won the Coliseum Mall Peninsula 9-Ball Open and $10,000 prize in Virginia on Aug. 11, then Reyes won the $50,000 winner-take-all International Challenge of Champions in Connecticut on Aug. 15 before Bustamante won anew in Nevada.

The Las Vegas Invitational was Bustamante’s fifth title this year. He won the Japan Open in Tokyo in March, IBC World Tour in Munich in June, the Peninsula 9-Ball Open and the Motolite World 9-Ball Challenge at Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City in June.

Bustamante, who will compete in the 9-ball doubles in Busan, placed second in the 2002 World Pool Championship in Cardiff, Wales, last July after losing to Earl Strickland in the finals.

Reyes, the 1999 world 9-ball champion, will see action in the 8-ball event in the Asian Games.