RP bets advance; Bata, Django see action

Two of the 10 members of the national team competing in next week’s Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam advanced to the tournament proper of the first Cafe Puro Philippine Open and Invitational 9-ball championship with relative ease, but two others got stalled by first round setbacks at the Octagon Hall of the Robinsons Galleria yesterday.

SEA Games-bound Antonio Lining and Marlon Manalo pulled off a pair of easy victories with the former thumping Rene Cruz, 9-2, and Japanese Takashi Uraoka, 9-4; and the latter booting out Korean Kim So Garnark, 9-6, and Japanese Katsuhoshi Hoshi, 9-2.

They thus joined the likes of Ramil Gallego and Ronnie Alcano in the round-of-32 today where the spearheads of the RP team —- Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante — likewise get the chance to strut their wares before an expected big crowd as they lead the 16 seeded entries in the five-day event.

Gallego trounced Dennis Orcullo, 9-5, and Elvis Perez, 9-4; while Alcano walloped Frennie Reyes’ conquerors Tolentino, 9-4, and Chong, 9-7.

But Warren Kiamco and Lee Van Corteza, the two other mainstays of the RP squad, were relegated to the loser’s group after dropping their opening round games in contrasting fashion.

Kiamco fell to Elmer Haya, 6-9, an hour after whipping Pu Yung Huang, 9-3, while Corteza was shocked by Jun del Mazon in an 8-9 loss but got back into contention with a 9-0 rout of German Andens Westgaad.

Meanwhile, Frennie Reyes, pool legend Efren "Bata" Reyes’ only son, failed to endure the pressure at center stage and crashed out early with back-to-back losses.

The 20-year-old Frennie, eldest of Reyes’ three siblings, blew a 6-2 lead with a series of scratches and dropped a 7-9 decision to Chong Yen Foong of Taiwan then lost to Mario Tolentino in the losers’ bracket, 3-9, to bow out of contention in the five-day event.

"Ang pinaka-crucial ‘yung first game ko, panalo na sana kaya lang nag-collapse ako," said Reyes, a third year Computer Science student at Holy Angel University in Pampanga.

"Grabe rin kasi ‘yung pressure lalo na pag ang tatay mo kilala sa buong mundo," he added referring to his father’s unrivalled popularity not only in local soil but on the world stage as well.

But despite the setback, the young Reyes said he was happy by just competing.

"Alam naman natin na mabibigat ang kalaban dito kaya kahit talo ako, masaya na rin kasi nakalaro ako dito at ang talagang priority ko ay ang pag-aaral ko kasi gusto ng tatay ko na makatapos ako," he said.

The other seeded players include Canada-based Filipino Alex Pagulayan, Tukehiiko Takahashi, Satoshi Kawabata, Yang Ching-Shun, Hsia Hui-Kai, Jeong Young-Hwa, Park Shin-Young, Mika Immonen, Thorsten Hohman, Marcus Chamat, Ralf Souquet, Earl Strickland, Corey Deuel and Rodney Morris.