Bustamante stayed in the hunt for a return stint in the World Pool Championship final as he beat fellow Filipino pool legend Efren "Bata" Reyes, 11-8, in their Final 16 match at the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales.
Banking heavily on his power breaks, Bustamante repeated his Final Eight victory over Reyes last year to advance to the quarterfinals against 11-time European champion Thorsten Hohmann of Germany.
If Bustamante hurdles Hohmann, the 39-year-old Tarlac native could well find himself in a collision course with 2002 final tormentor Earl Strickland in the semifinals.
The American reigning champion survived a tough challenge of England’s Steve Davis, 11-9, to set up a quarterfinal match with Taiwanese Ching-shun Yang – 11-5 winner over 2001 titlist Mika Immonen.
Bustamante was the lone Philippine bet left in the prestigious tourney as Ramil Gallego proved no match to young Filipino-Canadian player Alex Pagulayan, 4-11.
The 25-year-old Pagulayan, riding the momentum of a runner-up finish in the recent US Open, advanced to the Final Eight against Korean Shih-young Park — 11-5 victor over Alex Lely of the Netherlands. Pagulayan’s previous best finish here was a Final 16 stint.
The two others who made it to the Final Eight were Taiwanese Hsia Hui Kai and Malta’s Tony Drago. Hsia was the same man who frustrated Reyes in his bid for the gold medal in the 8ball event in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, Korea.
Bustamante capped his victory over Reyes with a banking carambola shot that had the 9-ball sinking in the middle pocket.
"It’s a lucky shot and it’s amazing," said Bustamante in the TV interview.
After making the tough shot following a safety by Reyes, Bustamante let out a big roar before offering a handshake to his beaten pal.
"We Filipinos really don’t like playing against each other but it’s no longer in our hands. I’ll just try my best to make good in the Last Eight and probably win the tourney," said Bustamante.
Reyes had his last chance to win the match when Bustamante failed to sink a single ball on his break in the 19th rack.
The two traded a number of safety shots before Bustamante went for the make-or-break carambola to end the exciting match. He made it and broke Reyes’ heart.