Edgy 'Bata' survives LeBron

The Filipino cue masters threatened to shut out their American counterparts in the rich Motolite international 9-ball championship when they swept the first four matches on scary victories by Efren "Bata" Reyes and Leonardo Andam and impressive wins by qualifiers Antonio Gabica and Antonio Lining at the Makati Coliseum yesterday.

Reyes, the reigning world 9-ball champion and the sentimental favorite to top this P4.2 million championship that has gathered the best in the US and this part of the world, beat Mike LeBron more on his rival's miscues than his vaunted talent on the green felt as he pulled off a 15-10 victory after trailing 5-8 midway in the featured matchup.

Andam, 40, also had to rack up the last five games to turn back Jeremy Jones, 15-13, in a stirring rally that anchored the hosts' explosive start with four of the scheduled eight matches remaining at presstime.

Earlier, unfanciedLining and Gabica scored identical 15-6 upset wins over Jim Rempe and Nick Varner, two of the most formidable Americans in the cast, only to find themselves clashing head-on with Reyes and Andam in the quarterfinal round today.

"Masama ang kondisyon ng mesa kaya lahat medyo ninerbyos. Ako nga sobra talaga ang nerbyos ko kaya medyo masama ang tira," said Reyes, who nevertheless vowed to settle down when he tests Lining's mettle today.

"Lumalakas si Lining, pero gagawin ko ang lahat ng makakaya ko," added the 45-year-old Reyes, who flubbed a number of seemingly easy shots in the early going and had to pounce on LeBron's errant shots in the last five games to clinch the victory.

Other matches at presstime were Django Bustamante-Tom Kennedy; Rodolfo Samson-Ernesto Dominguez; Johnny Archer-Venancio Tanio; and Kim Davenport-Ramil Gallego.

"Hindi nagmimintis si Jones sa umpisa pero buti na lang at nag-pickup yung laro ko," said Andam, the 1995 Texas Open champion who will be meeting Gabica, whom experts believe has the makings of a world champion.

Gabica, the fourth and last qualifier, stunned Varner with a vast repertoire of shots as he dominated the 7-time world champion en route to the one-side victory.