MANALO BEATS DJANGO IN PACMAN 9-BALL
By Marlon Bernardino
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 25 Oct 2007
"MARVELOUS" MARLON MANALO brushed aside Francisco "Django" Bustamante, 9-5, and lead the march of players into the third round of the winner's bracket yesterday in the Manny Pacquiao International 9-Ball Open at the Hobbies Mall billiards hall.
After winning the lag, Manalo jumped to a quick 2-0 lead, maintained the cushion, and thwarted the brief charge of Bustamante in the middle game.
Bustamante tied the count after 10 racks, 5-all, but got stuck as Manalo caught fire down the stretch.
"You can't afford to commit too many mistakes against Django. Fortunately I'm quite sharp today," said Manalo, many-time winner in the US pool circuit and perennial gold medal winner in the Southeast Asian Games.
The Mandaluyong ace, one of the members of the Team Philippines that will compete against the best players the world can offer in the Kabayan World 9-Ball Challenge: RP vs. Rest of the World, beat Eric Rodriguez in the opening round Wednesday night.
Manalo, third placer in the World Pool Championship two years ago in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, will next meet Karl Boyles of the United Kingdom.
Bustamante was eventually eliminated in the double elimination tournament, losing to Rodolfo "Boy Samson" Luat.
The famous Puyat Sports stable took a twin slap on the face after Efren "Bata" Reyes also fell by the wayside against little-known Jong-Jong Pangan, 9-8.
Rodrigo Geronimo shared the limelight with a pair of stunning victories against former US Open winner Rodney Morris, 9-2, and former Asian 9-Ball Tour champion Ramil "Bebeng" Gallego, 9-7.
Reigning Philippine Junior champion Mark Mendoza also stayed on the right side of the draw with a pair of 9-7 wins against Jay-Jay Escultor and Monching Mistica.
Marcus Chamat of Sweden, a frequent Manila visitor, beat Darren Appleton, 9-6, for his second win in the P2-Million event sponsored by boxing idol Manny Pacquiao.
In other matches, Patrick Gonzales, top player of Rocketman Enterprises, edged Rene Cruz, 9-8, and Gandy Valle downed Rene Mar "Revo" David, 9-3. The champion here take away P1 million while the runner-up gets P500,000. Meanwhile, everything is set for the 2007 Mindanao Open on November 6 at the Upper Sangan Labangan National Highway Labangan Zamboanga, del Sur on November 6. A total pot prize of P120,000 put up by sportsman Nasser Bandong. Please call or text (0916) 958-9897 for complete details.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Marlon Bernardino.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
TWO WORLD TITLE FIGHTS CONFIRMED FOR ‘GLORY IN GIZA’ UNDERCARD
Sat, 04 Apr 2026MANSOUR AND BALLO MAKE WAVES WITH UNPRECEDENTED OPEN WORKOUT ABOARD CITY CRUISES ADMIRAL HORNBLOWER AHEAD OF SD FIGHT NIGHT: FAMILY BUSINESS
Sat, 04 Apr 2026Rookie Kon Knueppel breaks Charlotte Hornets three points record
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Sat, 04 Apr 2026IBA extends its global reach through a strategic partnership with Nomad Fighting premiering at IBA Nomad 14
Sat, 04 Apr 2026GM Laylo leads in Bundesliga 3 and in IIEE chess Olympiad season 8
By Marlon Bernardino, Sat, 04 Apr 2026MANNY PACQUIAO PROMOTIONS TADURAN VS. PEREZ WEIGH-IN RESULTS
Fri, 03 Apr 2026PLANET ICE FIGHT NIGHT: WEIGH-IN RESULTS AS BROWN AND DUCAR FACE-OFF FOR FINAL TIME
Fri, 03 Apr 2026Battle of the Trades Returns for Its 3rd Year April 25 at Torrey Pines Community Resource Center in Las Vegas
Fri, 03 Apr 2026Bobby Laing vs. Russ Kimber in intriguing Intra-state match-up between Massachusetts Light Heavyweights on ‘Rumble at the Rink II’
Fri, 03 Apr 2026PH chess wizard Jacobb Seda ties for 1st, settles for silver on tiebreaks in Thailand meet
By Marlon Bernardino, Fri, 03 Apr 2026Rene “Chulo” Santiago, Masataka Taniguchi Officially Make Weight for Friday’s Unified World Title Clash in Tokyo
Thu, 02 Apr 2026Marlon Tapales and Yukinori Oguni Make Weight in Clash of Former World Champions
Thu, 02 Apr 2026Taduran in high spirits ahead of title defense in California
By Carlos Costa, Thu, 02 Apr 2026Waiting to beat Floyd
By Joaquin Henson, Thu, 02 Apr 202620th Philippine Xiangqi Open tournament on May 1
By Marlon Bernardino, Thu, 02 Apr 2026