Reyes bows to world titlist in Asian 9-ball exhibition

Reigning world 9-ball champion Wu Chia Ching humbled pool legend Efren "Bata" Reyes, 9-5, to top the 2006 San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour exhibition leg at the Guangdong TV studio in Guangzhou, China over the weekend.

Both players breezed through the six-man competition with Reyes conquering China’s national women’s champion Pan Xiao Ting and national team coach Xu Men via 7-5 victories.

The 17-year-old Wu, on the other hand, routed 2006 Ho Chi Minh leg runner-up Li He Wen of Hong Kong, 7-3, and thwarted former world pool champion Franscisco "Django" Bustamante to complete his rout of the tournament and arrange a final clash with Reyes.

The exhibition leg proved to be a welcome respite to the competition format as the players were allowed to polish their skills and play their style of billiards freely without the added pressure of the tournament. It also served as an exciting introduction for the Chinese viewers to world class 9-ball competition.

Meantime, the real competition resumes next month when the third leg of the 2006 San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour resumes in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on Aug. 4- 6.

STAR Sports will air highlights of the exhibition tournament on July 23 at 7 p.m.

Launched in February 2003, the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is Asia’s only premier 9-ball circuit featuring the region’s finest pool players, including defending overall tour champion Yang Ching Shun and Wu, both from Chinese Taipei, and Reyes.

The Tour is the only ranking tour in Asia for players to qualify to the World Pool Championship. The top 10 finishers in the San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour Order of Merit will automatically enter the World Pool Championship in Manila in November. Adding to the stakes will be a total tour prize money purse of $160,000 spread over four legs.

The Filipinos swept the first two legs of this year’s tour with Reyes reigning supreme in Ho Chi Minh last May and Ramil Gallego claiming the crown in Bangkok, Thailand last month.

The champion of each leg will earn the top prize of US$10,000 while the runner-up will get US$5,000. The final leg will be held in Jakarta on Sept. 15 - 17.

For details, log on to www.asian9-balltour.com. For the latest schedules and program information on ESPN STAR Sports, visit www.espnstar.com.