Bata, Django scramble past Scottish pair

Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante survived Scotland’s Pat Holtz and Michael Valentine as the defending champion Philippines scrambled for an 8-6 victory at the start of the World Cup of Pool at the Outland Nightclub in Rotterdam, Netherlands Tuesday.

The Filipinos actually raced to a 6-1 lead but the Scottish duo fought back and took five of the next six racks to move within at 6-7 although Reyes and Bustamante held on to prevail and advance to the second round.

The Philippines next faces Croatia, which stunned 16th-ranked Russia, 8-5, in the other match.

The RP bets won the lag but with no shot after the break, Reyes had to play safe and the same player later kicked in the 1-ball and Bustamante finished off the rack by sinking the 9-ball.

However, both Bustamante and Reyes missed shots in the second rack, on the 1-ball and 3-ball, respectively, to give the Scots a chance, which ended with Valentine making the score 1-1.

But Reyes and Bustamante combined splendidly to win the next five racks although the Scots rebounded with their own string of victories to close within at 6-7 in the winner-break format event, which stakes $60,000 to the winner.

The Scottish upset bid ended in the next rack when Valentine missed a long pot on the 7-ball and Philippines delighted its fans by securing a tense, 8-6, victory.

In other results, No. 8 China whipped South Africa, 8-1; France surprised No. 9 Italy, 8-2; the Netherlands beat Indonesia, 8-5; and Japan shocked No. 12 Spain, 8-2.