Bata, Django cross paths in Last 16

Bad timing.

Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante arranged a dream match between two of the world’s best cue artists but it came three stages earlier than what many Filipinos, or perhaps the rest of the world, had hoped for.

The two renowned masters of the game beat their respective rivals in varying fashion Thursday to set up a Last 16 match even as qualifier Ramil Gallego continued his giant-killing spree in the World Pool Championship at the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales.

No thanks to the luck of the draw, rather the bad side of it. Reyes and Bustamante found themselves on a collision course right after the elims where they were bracketed in the lower half of the tennis-style draw.

"It’s a big match for us. But many Filipinos would surely love to see us play in the semis or in the finals," said Bustamante, after outclassing compatriot Lee Van Corteza, 9-3, in their own side of the race-to-9 duel.

Unlike Bustamante, Reyes had to go through some anxious moments before outlasting Dutch Nick van den Berg as the amiable Filipino player blew what appeared to be an insurmountable 7-3 lead and needed to watch his rival self-destruct in the 16th rack before pulling off a scary 9-8 victory.

"I got lucky at the end. I didn’t break good and you didn’t see my best game today," said Reyes, adding that he would need to play better against Bustamante to win.

Meanwhile, Marlon Manalo’s impressive run of victories came to an abrupt end when he bumped into a talented Jeong Young-hwa of Korea and lost, 9-2, leaving Gallego as the only other Filipino in the Last 16.

Gallego, the 27-year-old former Tokyo Brunswick Open champion, trounced Taiwanese Lee Kun-fang, 9-6, to set up a duel with Canada-based Filipino Alex Pagulayan, who fought back from a 6-8 deficit to steal a 9-8 victory over American Rodney Morris in the upper bracket.

Reyes, Bustamante and Gallego thus assured themselves of $4,000.

"I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m sure Efren is figuring how he will beat me," said Bustamante, who beat the 1999 champion last year in the quarters but lost the crown to American Earl Strickland, 15-17.

"I am very happy that I won (over Van den Berg), but I will have to play better against Bustamante," said Reyes, who had looked forward to a trouble-free match after racing to a 7-3 lead.

But the Dutchman rallied to win the next four racks and then wrested the lead at 8-7 but came unstruck in the 16th rack when he lost position on the orange 5.

Reyes pounced on Van den Berg’s miscue to level the match at 8-8, only to be frustrated by a faulty break. But with the balls lying awkwardly, Van den Berg failed to convert, enabling Reyes to clear the table and win, much to the delight of the Filipinos in the arena.