MANILA, Philippines - Francisco “Django” Bustamante squeaked past Taiwanese Pin Yi-Ko, 9-7, to win the Philippine Bigtime Billiards (PBB) Face Off Series late Saturday at the Pagcor Airport Casino in Parañaque.
The 48-year-old pool legend showed vintage form to overhaul a 1-3 and 4-6 deficit en route to the difficult win in the Philippines versus Asia series jointly organized by the Mega Sports World and BRKHRD Corp .
“I was so nervous when Ko took a 3-1, 6-4 to 7-5 lead,” said Bustamante who reigned supreme in the 2010 World 9-Ball in Doha, Qatar.
“However i didn’t lose hope because of the winner’s break format. I knew I could turn things around if I played solid,” he added.
Ko downed Efren “Bata” Reyes, 9-4, Feb. 18 for the first win of Team Asia in the series.
The PBB Face Off series, backed up by Airport Casino Filipino, Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) and The Philippine STAR, resumes with a match pitting 2012 World 8-Ball Champion Jung Lin Chang of Chinese-Taipei against Lee Vann Corteza on March 3 and Chang versus Dennis Orcollo on March 10.