Corteza caps romp vs Bata, Django, cops Asian 9-ball title

Lee Van Corteza was both good and lucky as he stunned world No. 1 Francisco "Django" Bustamante, 13-11, in yesterday’s extended all-Filipino finals of the San Miguel Beer Asian 9-Ball Tour at the cold, spacious Octagon Hall of Robinson’s Galleria.

Playing with nothing more to lose, Corteza gave Bustamante a tough time from the start, then displayed nerves of steel to pull it off, pocket the $10,000 winner’s purse, and bring with him a lot of confidence when he competes in the World Pool Championship in Taipei in July.

"Pure luck. Once again, I won a lost match," said a jubilant Corteza in Pilipino. "I’m going to Taipei, our boss Putch Puyat told me."

Bustamante, who settled for $5,000, took the loss in stride but said he thought he had it when he led, 10-6. "Siya ang suwerte, ako ang malas. (He was lucky and I was not)."

Corteza, the latest addition to the Puyat Sports circle, won the first three racks but failed to pad his lead to 4-0 when he missed what appeared to be an easy cut on the orange five. This allowed Bustamante to pick up the pieces, forge a 5-5 deadlock and eventually race to a 10-6 lead.

Refusing to roll over and die, Corteza waged a big comeback, eating up Bustamante’s lead with slow, calculated moves that at times went with a lot of luck. He forged a 10-10 standoff that sent the match into an extension and, after trailing once again at 10-11, won two straight racks to wrap it up.

A run-out of the 24th and last rack gave Corteza the victory. The big crowd that watched the final, those from inside the main venue and those from the giant screen just outside, was already cheering when Corteza prepared to take the final 9-ball, an easy one to the left corner pocket.

Aside from Bustamante, Corteza and Efren "Bata" Reyes, other Filipinos competing in the World Championship on July 10 to 18 are Antonio Lining, Rodolfo Luat, Dodong Andam, Warren Kiamco and Ramil Gallego. The rest of the top 10 players in this five-leg tour also earned slots to Taipei.

Corteza reached the finals of this $50,000 leg with a 9-8 victory over Reyes in the quarters and an 11-5 come-from-behind win over Korea’ss Jeong Young Hwa in the semis. Bustamante made it following a similar 9-8 win over Kiamco in the quarters and an 11-5 win over youthful Taiwanese Wu Chia Ching.

A chubby 15-year-old, Wu gave the big Sunday crowd quite a scare when he engaged the 40-year-old Filipino in a close battle early on. Wu took a 5-4 lead but it proved to be his last as Bustamante finally took him to school.

"Too bad I didn’t break well. Bustamante played well today," said Wu, one of the few lefties in the tour, through an interpreter.

Corteza got off to a terrible start, but once he got going, there was no stopping him.

He trailed the Korean 0-4 then racked up 10 straight victories as he pounced on his opponent’s numerous mistakes, mostly on clear, open shots that left the Filipino smiling in disbelief.

Jeong finally broke his silence by winning the 15th rack but Corteza, behind a powerful break, finished him off with a run-out of the 16th and final rack for his first finals stint in this year’s tour.

"He wasn’t careful with his shots. He put too much force on those balls that were already near the hole," said Corteza of Jeong, who came close to beating Reyes in the finals of the previous Taipei leg.