Bata also reigns in Jakarta

Efren "Bata" Reyes once again basked in glory in international stage, completing a grand sweep by Filipino pool sharks of the 2006 San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour by ruling the final leg at the Gran Melia Jakarta Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia yesterday.

Reyes whipped Chinese-Taipei’s Wang Hung Hsiang in the semifinals, then clobbered Indonesian Ricky Yang in the finals both with an 11-6 count, duplicating his victory in the Ho Chi Minh kickoff leg to earn another $10,000 cash purse in the four-leg series serving as the qualifier for the 2006 World Pool Championship.

Reyes topped the Asian Tour Order of Merit for another great recognition and huge earning after winning the World Cup in tandem with Francisco "Django" Bustamante then conquering the IPT World 8-Ball Championship.

The Filipinos completed a sweet sweep of the Asian Tour with Ramil Gallego annexing the championship in Bangkok and Rodolfo "Boy Samson" Luat emerging victorious in Taiwan.

But Reyes easily shone brightest with victories in Ho Chi Minh and Jakarta, further validating his status as one of the best, if not the best, in the world.

He proved too much for the opposition in Jakarta, winning with relative ease all his five matches in the three-day event.

Reyes dished out a near flawless performance in the final match, winning the lag and the opening rack, building a huge 6-1 lead and withstanding Yang’s late charge to take the crown.

Yang showed some semblance of a fight as he won three of four racks from a 3-7 count to narrow the gap to two at 6-8.

But Reyes didn’t prolong Yang’s agony any further.

The Filipino ace made it 9-6 with a delicate shot that had the black-8 rolling softly and hanging briefly on a corner pocket before eventually sinking in to the delight of the crowd.

Reyes pounded an error by Yang on the 16th rack then scored a run-out on the 17th to finish the match.

The two players split the first two racks both on run-outs before the Filipino surged ahead to stay on a 1-9 combination on the third rack.

Reyes pulled away to 6-1 cashing in on crucial miscues by Yang on the fourth and six racks.