Reyes and Yang set up Titanic Quarterfinal Duel Efren “Bata” Reyes of the Philippines and Yang Ching Shun of Chinese Taipei set up an early titanic clash as each one breezed through the opening two rounds of the final leg of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour at the Robinsons Galleria Trade Hall.
Reyes routed Kaohsiung leg runner-up Au Chi Wai of Hong Kong 9-1, while Yang subdued Li He-Wen of China 9-4 in the second round to arrange the highly anticipated match in the quarterfinals of the event organized by ESPN STAR Sports. After being tied 1–1, Reyes, who topped the second leg in Jakarta, swept the next eight racks to close out the match to the delight of the hometown crowd. The 50-year-old pool legend opened up his campaign earlier in the day with a 9-4 drubbing of Luong Chi Dung of Vietnam.
Not to be outdone, Yang also flashed his deadly form after claiming six of the last seven racks against the Chinese. The Kaohsiung leg champion began his bid for a second consecutive crown this year with a 9-4 triumph over Alok Kumar of India. Singapore leg winner Gandy Valle of the Philippines also moved on to the quarterfinals following his 9-2 drubbing of Japanese Satoshi Kawabata. The 32-year-old will next take on 16-year-old Wu Chia Ching of Chinese Taipei. The Taiwanese pool prodigy nipped compatriot Chao Fong Pang 9-8. Incidentally, it was the third time this tour that Wu beat two-time World Pool champion Chao. Ronato Alcano also joined fellow Filipinos Reyes and Valle in the second day as he thumped Jeong Young Hwa of Korea 9-2. Alcano will clash against Chang Pei-Wei of Chinese Taipei. The 2004 World Pool runner-up waylaid countryman Chiu Hung-Ming 9-5. It was a day marked by one major upset as number-two seed and former world number one Francisco “Django” Bustamante continued his Asian Tour title drought as he fell to Patrick Ooi of Malaysia 9-3. “It’s really not my tournament to win,” expressed an obviously disappointed Bustamante. Ooi moves on to face another Filipino Antonio Lining. Lining became the fourth Filipino to move on to the quarterfinals after rallying from 5-8 down to trounce Vu Trong Kai of Vietnam 9-8. Now in its third year, the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is offering a total prize money purse of $50,000USD up for grabs at this weekend’s final stop in Manila. The champion will get the top prize of $10,000USD. The main draw includes 32 top Asian players from 11 countries. Last year saw the 50-year-old Reyes rule three of the tour’s five legs. The player known as “The Magician” took home the leg titles in Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, and Taipei. The 2002 Busan Asian Games 9-Ball singles gold medalist, Yang, topped the Hong Kong leg, while Lee Vann Corteza of the Philippines triumphed in Manila. For more information on the Tour, please check out www.asian9-balltour.com. For the latest schedules and program information on ESPN STAR Sports, catch us on the net at www.espnstar.com. The San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union and co-organized by ESPN STAR Sports’ Event Management Group (EMG) and Puyat Sports. San Miguel Beer is the title sponsor for the tour. Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls respectively. Brunswick Metro is the official pool table, Holiday Inn Galleria is the official hotel and the Robinsons Galleria is the official venue while Sun Cellular is the official mobile service. STAR Sports is the official broadcaster. Sun Cellular is the official mobile service. The 2005 Tour will go to Singapore, Jakarta, Kaohsiung and Manila. Besides the total prize money of $200,000USD, the top 10 players on the Tour Order of Merit every year will directly qualify into the World Pool Championships.
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