RP aces out to keep 9-ball crown

A mere mention of a Filipino cue master playing in an international 9-ball tournament could be enough to make one shudder. But with not just one but three of the country’s most revered names in the sport playing in this weekend’s San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour here, the title could be in the bag even before the first lag is knocked.

That could be the scenario in the keenly-awaited final leg of the $250,000 circuit, which kicked off in Singapore in February and hopped to Vietnam, Hong Kong and just recently Taipei. Three of those stages were ruled by the very player widely regarded as the greatest pool artist of all time and it is but fitting that Efren "Bata" Reyes will spearhead the hosts’ bid in the two-day tournament firing off Saturday at the Octagon Hall of Robinson’s Galleria.

One of the advantages of being Reyes is the knowledge that his opponent is likely to hand over at least one game on reputation alone. That’s a given. But for sure, the amiable 49-year-old former world champion would be the first one to play down his chances even when all the factors point to another Reyes win.

"Balikatan pa rin ang laban," Reyes loves to say whenever he is asked on his thoughts on the field teeming with talent.

Sure, the Chinese-Taipei squad is loaded, Japan and Korea remain lethal and the Indian and Malaysian bets are sturdy and steady and could spring a surprise or two on a 9-ball event which could change in form and character on every flawed break or muffed shot.

But with Reyes riding the crest of a near-flawless campaign on the San Miguel Beer-sponsored tour, the Filipinos’ bid to keep the crown at home is in good hands. Put in Francisco "Django" Bustamante and Warren Kiamco in the fold and things are looking up indeed for the RP contingent.

The BCA Open debacle last week notwithstanding, Reyes will be the marked man in the $50,000 event organized by ESPN STAR Sports Management Group, the very same tournament he ruled with flourish when he swamped Kiamco in an all-Filipino final last year.

The world No. 4 and spearhead of Team Puyat Sports then topped the Singapore stop, the first leg of this year’s series, added the Vietnam leg in stirring come-from-behind fashion then duplicated the feat in Taiwan by repulsing Jeong Young Hwa of Korea.

While Reyes is on a roll, Bustamante is on a slump and this could all the more fire up the current world No. 1 not only to crowd the former for the crown but also to inject life to his sagging bid for another stint in the World Championship in Taiwan in July.

With two second-round finishes in the first two legs, a quarterfinal feat in Hong Kong and a disastrous first-round stint in Taiwan, Bustamante found himself in 11th place in the current Order of Merit rankings of the event, the only tournament which gives ranking points for Asian players to qualify for the world tilt.

With 80 points, Bustamante is 10 points short of the No. 10 and last spot and the 40-year-old power breaker is expected to go flat out for the victory to ensure his unhampered stint in the biggest pool event in the world.

Unlike Bustamante, the 34-year-old Kiamco is the only other Filipino player assured of a spot in the Taiwan bash as he remained entrenched in joint second in the rankings with Taiwan’s Chao Pong Fang with identical 130 points behind Reyes’ pacesetting 250.

But the reticent cue artist from Cebu, a former SEA Games gold medallist, is out to create a big impact here and is more than ready to prove his worth against the likes of Reyes and Bustamante in a bid to end a couple of runner-up finishes on the tour.

If the foreign field fails to stop the probable march of the Filipino bets to the championship round, Reyes, Bustamante and Kiamco may find themselves fighting it out for this weekend’s pool glory before the local crowd.

Just like the last time out.