Reyes, Amit pocket crown in epic duel

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ Efren “Bata” Reyes and Rubilen Amit broke out of a seven-all deadlock and turned back Team Korea’s Charlie Williams and Park Eun Ji, 9-7, in a thrilling showdown in the 2009 World Mixed Doubles Classic at the Nuvo City Lifestyle Center in Libis, Quezon City last night.

Reyes and Amit bucked a pair of scratches from breaks and a slew of missed shots in carving out the victory worth $6,000.

Amit, the reigning women’s world 10-ball titlist, sank a difficult shot on the left corner pocket to cap the win to the loud cheers of the home crowd.

“We got a little bit lucky in the end,” said a smiling Reyes.

Amit said it’s a delight to play alongside his idol.

“It’s really a great feeling playing alongside him (Reyes). All the things he has just rubbed off on me. He’s really an inspiration,” said Amit.

Reyes and Amit will spearhead the country’s bid in the 25th Southeast Asian Games slated Dec. 9-18 in Vientiane, Laos with the former teaming up with old buddy Francisco “Django” Bustamante in the men’s 9-ball doubles and Amit seeing action in the women’s 9-ball and 8-ball singles.

Earlier, the Philippines’ second team of Lee Van Corteza and Filipino-American Shannelle Loraine overpowered Team Europe’s Mika Immonen of Iceland and Borana Andoni of Albania, 7-3, to clinch third place in the event presented by Nuvo Land Philippines, Inc. and Dragon Promotions.

It was a sweet revenge for Corteza who was beaten by Immonen in the final of the recent World 10-ball Championship.

“It’s a nice feeling getting back at Immonen ,” said Corteza, a former six-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist.

Riding the crest of emphatic victories in the preliminaries, Williams and Park roared to a 2-0 start by pouncing on a dry break by Amit in the first frame and then cleaning up the second rack with a display of superb shot making.

The two pairs alternated racks from there. Team Korea took the sixth rack for a 4-2 upper hand after emerging from an exchange of safety shots, with Park drilling in a banked shot that opened things up for the easy point.

The Filipinos, however, made their own move, dazzling the crowd with one magical shot after another to take the next four racks and surge to a 5-4 advantage.

Dry breaks by Reyes and Amit on the 10th and 12th racks allowed Williams and Park to snare three of the next five racks and tie the count at seven-all.

The Filipinos, however, managed to wriggle out of trouble, beating the Koreans in an exchange of safety shots on the 15th.

“That was the crucial part of the match. Things would have been different had we missed the 15th,” said Amit.

The $12,000 tournament, which was telecast live on ESPN Star Sports and ABS-CBN throughout Asia and the Philippines, was supported by The Philippine STAR, Puyat Sports, ABS-CBN Sports and ESPN-Star Sports.

Reyes and Amit made it to the finals by edging Japan’s Hayato Hijikata and Kaori Ebe, 7-4, Tuesday, and smashing Immonen and Andoni, 7-1, Wednesday.