Reyes Cup: Yapp edges Shaw as Team Asia leads Team Europe

MANILA, Philippines — Aloysius Yapp took control of the decisive fifth rack as he gunned down Jayson Shaw, 5-4, to give Team Asia a critical 3-2 lead over Team Europe in the inaugural Reyes Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium Tuesday night.

The 28-year-old Singaporean Southeast Asian Games gold medalist showed nerves of steel in overcoming a gritty Shaw by sweeping the final rack in snatching the hill-hill win and giving the hosts the much-needed lead going into the final two days.

Yapp was also part of that second doubles match with former world 10-ball and 9-ball king Ko Pin Yi of Taiwan that bested the Spanish duo of Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and David Alcaide, 5-2.

The other match that Team Asia won was Vietnamese Duong Quoc Hoang’s 5-3 victory over Albanian Eklent Kaci.

The Europeans averted what could have been a disastrous opening day as they rallied from 4-1 down in snatching a 5-4 win by a team of Sanchez Ruiz, Alcaide, Mickey Krause of Denmark and Kaci over Filipinos Carlo Biado and Johann Chua, Yapp and Duong.

Shaw had a great start by seizing the first two frames thanks to a break-and-run in the second.

But Yapp fought gallantly back, took the third rack from 7-all and then leveled it at two after Shaw broke dry that allowed the former to take total control of the table.

Yapp did take control, 3-2, but Shaw tied the count again after a golden break in the sixth.

The two combatants alternated racks again with Yapp taking the seventh and Shaw the eighth before the Singaporean got possessed and dominated the winner-take-all rack.

The visitors’ other triumph came from Shaw and Krause over Chua and Biado, 5-3.

Action resumes in Day 2 Wednesday night in this three-day, 21-match and race-to-11 tournament, which is being done in tribute to legendary Filipino Efren “Bata” Reyes.