Hohmann turns back Bata, seals semifinal seat

Thorsten Hohmann more than held his own against Efren "Bata" Reyes in a duel of World Pool titlists, fashioning out a 7-4 win that sealed a slot in the semifinals of the On Cue 2: Battle of Champions 9-ball Showdown at the Robinson’s Galleria Trade Hall yesterday.

Displaying awesome pocketing, Hohmann defeated Reyes before hundreds of the Filipino idol’s adoring fans in the posh venue and probably millions more tuned in on Studio 23 as the German reigning World Pool champion closed out his stint in the eliminations with a 3-1 win-loss record.

At press time, American Johnny Archer sported a 1-0 card, another American, Earl Strickland, a 0-2 slate and Finnish Mika Immonen a 1-2 record in the foreigners’ side. The two players with the best cards in this group advance to the crossover knockout semis today.

Hohmann turned back Francisco "Django" Bustamante and Vinancio Tanio both at 7-4 but lost to Alex Pagulayan, 6-7, at the start of the four-day tourney among four local aces and four foreign stars Tuesday.

Reyes, fresh from a runner-up finish in Poland, opened his campaign with a 7-5 whipping of Strickland before bowing to Hohmann.

Strickland, using borrowed cue sticks after his entire luggage was lost in transit following a flight from Atlanta together with those of Archer’s, also lost to Bustamante, 3-7.

But Archer, also playing with borrowed sticks, hardly encountered any problem in a 7-4 conquest of Tanio.

Except for a bad safety on the first rack, a scratch on the fourth and a miss on the ninth, Hohmann dished out impeccable shot making in beating Reyes.

A runout in the 11th finished the job for Hohmann who is seeking another big paycheck as a string of rich international tourneys came his way after he reigned supreme in the Cardiff Arena.

Losing the lag and subsequently the first rack, Hohmann quickly evened up as he gave Reyes a tricky shot which he failed to convert in the second rack.

The two players split the next two racks before Hohmann dominated the match with a run of four racks, which he capped with two runouts.

Reyes prolonged the match as he pounded Hohmann’s error in the ninth then hit an ace in the 10th. Back on the table to do the break in the 11th, Hohmann finished it off on another runout. — Nelson Beltran