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Online Tournament Coverage

Shock, Sadness Find Their Way to Cardiff
by Mike Panozzo Jul 19, 2002, 11:12 AM EST

The tension and excitement of the world championship has been replaced by grief and sadness on Friday morning's news that the six-month-old daughter of Filipino star Francisco Bustamante had died suddenly in Manila.

According to Rolando Vincente, manager of the Philippine contingent, Bustamante received the crushing news early Friday from his wife, Mila. Vincente said that the baby was in good health when Bustamante left Manila for Cardiff.

"Francisco is terribly upset," said Vincente. "But after speaking with his wife and our sponsor, Jose Puyat, he has decided to stay in Cardiff and continue to play for the honor of the Philippines."

Bustamante has reached the final 16 of the 2002 Hasseroder World Pool Championship, and is scheduled to play countryman Antonio Lining Friday evening at the Cardiff International Arena. In a display of unity and respect for the likeable Bustamante, players competing early Friday have been wearing black armbands.

Friday Matches - Final 16
Marcus Chamat (Swe) v Alex Pagulayan (Can)
Takeshi Okumura (Jap) v Lu-Kun Hung (ChiTap)
Johnny Archer (USA) v Kun-Fang Lee (ChiTap)
Francisco Bustamante (Phi) v Antonio Lining (Phi)
Earl Strickland (USA) v Jeremy Jones (USA)
Alex Lely (Hol) v Kunihiko Takahashi (Jap)
Hiroshi Takenaka (Jap) v Ching-Sun Yang (ChiTap)
Oliver Ortmann (Ger) v Efren Reyes (Phi)

For complete Group standings, and Final 64 pairings, http://www.worldpoolchampionship.com/results.asp";>click here:

Tournament Notes

Cardiff Insider

Prior to the sad news of the death of Francisco Bustamante's six-month-old daughter, the talk around Cardiff was centered around the ugly actions of American Cory Deuel Thursday night. Deuel lost to Sweden's Marcus Chamat, 9-7, after jumping to a 5-2 lead.
Late in the match, Deuel complained about the racking of the balls, insisting that the 2 ball be positioned in the bottom half of the rack. Following the match, Deuel slammed his cue case to the ground and kicked over a trash bin.
Friday morning the controversy continued, as American Earl Strickland, still alive in the final 16, chimed in with his complaint over the racking of the balls.