Bata shows up Django, enters semis

Efren "Bata" Reyes outfoxed Francisco "Django" Bustamante, 9-5, in a duel of the fancied Filipino bets to barge into the semifinal round of the first leg of the San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour at the Nguyen Du Sports Hall in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam yesterday.

The 51-year old Reyes rode on a quick start that saw him sweep the first four racks, pouncing on Bustamante’s failure to run out the second rack and a scratch off the break in the fourth.

Reyes, the former world 9-ball champion and who dominated this event in 2004, then went 6-2 up but consecutive scratches in the ninth and 10th racks enabled Bustamante to close within at 5-6.

Bustamante, the former world No. 1, had a golden opportunity to knot the score up in the 12th, but his break proved too strong with the cue ball bouncing off the table for an automatic foul.

Taking the cue, Reyes ran out the next two racks to sit on the hill with possession going back to his countryman.

But fate frowned on Bustamante, who missed what had appeared to be an easy corner pocket shot on the orange 5 in the 14th, paving the way for Reyes to close out the match.

"I was just lucky that my breaks were more accurate than Django’s. As the match progressed, I just felt more comfortable," said Reyes, who with Bustamante topped their respective groups during the elimination round Friday. "The bracket was really not to our advantage, but we just went out and play. It’s too bad that one of us had to lose."

Reyes thus moved to the semis where he will next meet the winner of the quarterfinal duel between reigning Tour champion Yang Ching Shun of Chinese Taipei and local bet Nguyen Phuc Long. The victory over Bustamante has guaranteed Reyes $3,000 (P153,000) while Bustamante settled for $1,750 (P89,000).

Also advancing to the Final Four is Li He Wen of China, who prevailed over compatriot Xu Meng, 9-5. He will face off against Wang Hung Hsiang of Chinese Taipei, who foiled another local bet Nguyen Phoung Thao, 9-5.

Reyes made it through the quarterfinals by blanking Tepwin Arunnath, 9-0, and routing Masaaki Tanaka, 9-4, in Group 5 Friday. Bustamante won over Chan Keng Kwang of Singapore, 9-5, and Amnuayporn Chotipong of Thailand, 9-3, in Group 4.

But the two other Filipinos — Marlon Manalo and Alex Pagulayan — failed to move past the group stage after splitting their two assignments.

Manalo posted a gripping 9-8 victory over Wang Hung Hsiang of Chinese Taipei, but bowed down to Vietnamese Nguyen Thanh Nam, 8-9. Pagulayan lost to another Vietnamese, Nguyen Phuc Long, 8-9, but edged Imran Ibrahim of Indonesia, 9-8.

 The Asian 9-Ball Tour is the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify to the World Pool Championship.  The top 10 finishers at the end of the four-leg, country-hopping circuit will automatically enter the World Pool Championships. 

Now in its fourth year, the San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour is offering a top prize of $10,000 for the champion of each leg and $5,000 to the runner-up.

The San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union and organized by ESPN STAR Sports’ Event Management Group (EMG).

San Miguel Beer is the title sponsor for the Tour while STAR Sports is the official broadcaster.

From Ho Chi Minh, the tour go to Bangkok on June 2-4), then to Kaohsiung on Aug. 4-6, before winding up in Jakarta on Sept. 15-17).