Django, Dennis head for W Cup

Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Dennis Orcollo try to reclaim one of the most prestigious billiards crowns in the planet as they team up to carry the Philippine flag in the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool from Oct. 7 to 12 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Bustamante and Orcollo will compete against 31 other pairs from around the world in this tournament that offers a total prize fund of $250,000 (P11.75-million), including the champion purse of $60,000.

Their campaign is supported by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) and Senate President Manny Villar’s Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports.

“I think we have a strong chance to recover the World Cup,” said Bustamante, whose partnership with pool maestro Efren “Bata” Reyes won the Philippines the title in the event’s inaugural staging in 2006. They failed to defend the crown last year, losing to eventual champion Fu Jian Bo and Li He-wen of China in the quarterfinals.

“With Dennis, we have a combination of experience and talent, and old and new style. I also think that we have a good chemistry, which is very essential in this kind of competition,” he added.

Orcollo, a stalwart of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions of businessman Perry Mariano, is the reigning world No.1. He has so far won four major tournaments this year – the San Miguel Beer-Quezon City 9-Ball Championship, the All-Japan Open, the 2008 Qatar International 9-Ball Open and China leg of the 2008 Guinness Tour.

“I hope I could continue my good performance, and with Django, I’m confident of our chances,” said Orcollo.

Bustamante and Orcollo are also part of the eight-man Filipino squad seeing action in the much-anticipated QC Invasion: Quezon City-Philippines vs the World Grand Billiards Showdown on Dec. 2-4 at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City.

In Holland, the Filipino duo is seeded No.2, behind the defending champion. They will open their bid against Denmark, bannered by Martin Larsen and Kasper Kristoffersen.

The other countries competing in the tournament are Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysian, Chinese-Taipei, Thailand, Vietnam, Canada, the United States, Australia, Peru, Qatar, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and two teams from the host nation.