Reyes trips long-time Chinese foe for PBB series crown

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes displayed old magic to trip Chinese Wu Jian Qiang, 9-6, in the Philippine Bigtime Billiards (PBB) Face Off Series late Friday at the Pagcor Airport Casino in Parañaque City.

“Luck played a part in my victory. Wu is a very tough opponent and I really had a hard time beating him,” said Reyes

It was a sweet revenge for Reyes against Wu who dealt the Filipino a sorry loss in their quarterfinal encounter in the 11th Predator International 10-Ball Championship last September at the Robinsons Galleria Mall in Ortigas.

Wu, formerly Wu Chia-ching from Chinese Taipei, now plays for mainland China.

Reyes earned $5,000 for the win while Wu settled for $2,500 in the race-to-nine, winner’s break showdown jointly organized by the Mega Sports World and BRKHRD Corp in cooperation with Solar Sports, Sky Channel 70, Destiny Channel 34, Airport Casino Filipino, Crown Sound System Sakura Amplifiers and Home Theater Systems, Malungai Life Oil, Diamond Billiard table, Hermes Sports Bar, I-Bar, Golden Leaf Restaurant, Bugsy Promotions, Mandarin Sky Sea Food Restaurant, Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) with The Philippine STAR as official media partner.

Among the Filipino stars who played in the PBB Face off series were Carlo Biado, Dennis Orcollo, Ronato Alcano, Francisco Bustamante, Lee Vann Corteza and Roberto Gomez.

The PBB Face Off resumes Feb. 18 with a new format.