Bata, Amit ride on big breaks, trip Japanese

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ Efren “Bata” Reyes and Rubilen Amit lived up to their top billing as they whisked off Japan’s Hayato Hijikata and Kaori Ebe, 7-4, last night to open their title drive in the 2009 World Mixed Doubles Classic Tuesday at the Nuvo City Lifestyle Center in Libis, Quezon City.

After a wobbly start, the Filipino pair made its move in the ninth rack as Reyes and Amit kept their Japanese rivals off the table with superb shot-making. From a 4-all count, they swept the next three racks to romp off with the victory in the opener of the event which offers $6,000 to the champions.

“We just got a little bit lucky and got those crucial breaks late in the match,’’ said Reyes. “We saw the opportunity and grabbed it when they missed the first ball in the ninth rack.”

After Reyes missed a three-rail attempt to sink the yellow ball in the eighth rack, Hijikata, who finished second in the 2005 World 9-Ball Juniors crown in Austria who once beat Reyes in a tournament early this year, and Ebe cleaned up the table to force a tie.

Hijiata, however, missed on a carom shot off the corner pocket, enabling Reyes and Amit to snatch the rack and the lead at 5-4 before taking the next two frames.

Earlier, newly crowned World 10-ball champion Mika Immonen and Borana Andoni of Team Europe rallied to edge Hijikata and Ebe, 7-5.

Fresh from his victory over Filipino Lee Van Corteza, Immonen buckled down to work and teamed up with Andoni in dismantling the Japanese pair.

It was Immonen’s second major title of the year after his impressive triumph in the US Open – his second straight victory there – just last month.

European players are currently dominating the pool world.

The world champions in the four pool disciplines are all Europeans - Daryl Peach of England in 9-ball, Ralf Souquet of Germany in 8-ball, Niels Feijen of the Netherlands in straight pool and Immonen in 10-ball.

“I just felt like I can win every match I play,” said Immonen.

“Mika’s winning habit is contagious,” said Andoni, who hails from Albania.

But the Japanese didn’t go down without a fight.

They actually took control of the match early and had several chances to pull off an upset in the event presented by Nuvo Land Philippines, Inc. and Dragon Promotions.

After racing to a 5-3 lead, the Japanese had two chances to reach the hill. But Ebe and Hijikata took turns with missed shots late in the racks.

Ebe missed a tough-angled shot on the nine-ball as Immonen and Andoni equalized on the 10th rack while Hijikata’s shot on the 10-ball rattled off on the 11th.

The six teams in the $12,000 event supported by Puyat Sports, ABS-CBN Sports, ESPN-Star Sports and The Philippine STAR are divided into two groups. The Team Philippines “A” of Efren “Bata” Reyes and Rubilen Amit, Team Europe and Team Japan composed Group A while the Team Philippines “B” of Corteza and Fil-Am Shanelle Loraine, Team Korea of Charlie Williams and Eunji Park and Team USA of Shane Van Boening and Amy Chen comprised Group B.

The 10-ball tournament, produced by Dragon Promotions, is telecast live on ESPN Star Sports and ABS-CBN throughout Asia and the Philippines.