Bata pockets 9-ball crown over Chinese

Efren "Bata" Reyes flashed vintage form and taught upstart Li He Wen of China a neat pool lesson, fashioning out an emphatic 11-6 victory to rule the first leg of the San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour before a packed crowd at the Nguyen Du Sports Hall in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam yesterday.

A 1-9 combination in the 17th rack capped Reyes’ swift victory over Li, who gallantly fought back from a 1-4 deficit to draw level in the 10th rack only to crack up when the Filipino ace cue master re-asserted his supremacy over the Chinese bet midway in their race-to-11 championship match.

The victory was worth $10,000 for the former world 9-ball champion and it somehow sparked hopes of another Reyes domination of the circuit the way he did in 2004 when he won the kickoff leg of the four-stage series and went on to rule the next two en route to crowning himself the Tour champion.

Reyes, who whipped buddy Francisco "Django" Bustamante, 9-5, in the quarterfinal round then routed local bet Nguyen Phuc Long, 11-5, in the semis, raced to an early 4-1 lead but miscues and dry breaks enabled Li to bounce back and draw level at 5-5.

But that proved to be the best that Li could get as Reyes buckled down to work again and pounced on his rival’s bad shot on the yellow 1 to steal the 11th rack and regain control before taking the next frame in a battle of safeties to go 2 racks up again.

"Li had his chances, but his poor breaks and bad safety shots did him in," said the 51-year-old Reyes, who was mobbed by both the local and Filipino fans after securing his sixth leg title in the Asian Tour.

The Asian 9-Ball Tour is the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify to the World Pool Championship.  The top 10 finishers at the end of the four-stage Tour will automatically enter the World Pool Championships.

The San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union and organized by ESPN STAR Sports’ Event Management Group (EMG). San Miguel Beer is the title sponsor for the Tour. Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls respectively. Brunswick Metro is the official pool table. STAR Sports is the official broadcaster.

From Ho Chi Minh City, the 2006 Tour will go to Bangkok on June 2-4, then to Kaohsiung on Aug. 4-6 before winding up in Jakarta on Sept. 15-17.