Bata, Luat, Django hurdle foes

Efren "Bata" Reyes overcame some anxious moments before thwarting the challenge of youthful Nien Rong-Chi of Taiwan, 9-5, to lead the charge of the Filipino bets at the start of the third leg of the 2006 San Miguel Beer Asian 9-Ball Tour in Kaohsiung, Taiwan last night.

Reyes, a former Tour champion who ruled the kickoff leg of this four-city circuit in Vietnam, pounced on his rival’s erratic shots midway through the race-to-9 duel to pound out the victory before a packed crowd at the Kaohsiung Business Exhibition Center.

Earlier, Rodolfo Luat and Francisco "Django" Bustamante routed their respective rivals to likewise lead their respective divisions in the eight-group field.

Luat, making his first appearance in the annual event sponsored by San Miguel Beer, overcame jetlag and fatigue as he defeated another local bet Wang Hung-hsiang, 9-3, in Group 6 action.

Bustamante, the former world No. 1, dominated Thai Amnuayporn Chotipong, sweeping the first six racks en route to posting a 9-4 victory in Group 2.

Gandy Valle was playing defending tour champion Yang Ching-shun in Group 8 while this year’s Bangkok leg winner Ramil Gallego was battling Chan Keng-kwang of Singapore in Group 1 at presstime.

For a while, Reyes, the 1999 world 9-ball champion, appeared headed for a big letdown when he dropped three of the first four racks. But the 51-year-old veteran campaigner bounced back to take the next three racks as Nien started to feel the pressure of playing against one of the most revered pool artists in the world.

Gaining the momentum, Reyes raced to a 7-4 lead, snatching the 11th frame when Nien muffed what seemed to be an easy corner pocket shot on the black 8.

In contrast, Bustamante had little trouble in disposing of Chotipong as he claimed the first six racks then turned the Thai’s miscue in the 13th rack into another victory that set him up for that 9-4 rout.

Luat took the first two frames against Wang, a semifinalist in the Ho Chi Minh leg but who could not seem to get his rhythm going with poor safety shots that the Filipino bet translated into victories.

He was up at 6-3 when Wang faltered with another poor safety shot on the brown 7, enabling Luat to win the last three racks to earn his first win on the tour.

 "I knew Wang is a very good player so I saw that I had to perform my best and win my first match to stand a chance in qualifying for the next round. Hopefully I won’t have a hard time with my next match. I’m sure Wang will try to defeat his next opponent to gain points for the tournament that’s why it was crucial for me to post an overwhelming win against him," Luat said.

Luat needs to win over Indon Ricky Yang to assure a spot in the quarterfinals.

The top 10 finishers in the San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour Order of Merit will automatically enter the 2006 World Pool Championship in November.

The champion of each leg will earn the top prize of $10,000 while the runner-up will get for $5,000. Aside from Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and Taiwan, the tour will also make a stop in Jakarta, Indonesia for its final leg.