Reigning champion Team Asia shone the brightest in the opener of the second Reyes Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate Thursday, Oct. 16.
Team Asia reminded the rest of the world that it is the reigning Reyes Cup champion at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate Thursday night, Oct. 16.
The best cue artists from the east posted a 4-0 advantage in the opener of the first-to-11 competition named after the Filipino billiards great Efren "Bata" Reyes.
PH pool legend and Team Asia captain Django Bustamante banner the squad that also featured Carlo Biado, Johann Chua, Aloysius Yapp, Duong Quoc Hoang and the youthful AJ Manas.
[RELATED STORY: Django Bustamante expects ‘pareng’ Efren to show support for Team Asia in Reyes Cup 2025]
Meanwhile, world No. 1 Fedor Gorst, skipper Jeremy Jones, Jayson Shaw, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Moritz Neuhausen and Skyler Woodward make up the Team Rest of the World.
"Medyo masama lang ang nilaro nila kaya nakauna kami," said Manas.
Team Asia huddles during the first match of the day. | Photo: RM Chua/One Sports
Nerve-wracking finish
Chua and Duong escaped with a nail-biting 5-4 win over Gorst and Woodward to cap the opening day.
After a run out in Rack 6, Gorst and Woodward refused to fold and raked in back-to-back racks to tie it at 4-all.
But a costly foul ball by Gorst set the tables up for the Filipino-Vietnamese's duo's breakaway.
[RELATED STORY: AJ Manas embraces pressure, excitement as youngest member of Team Asia in Reyes Cup 2025]
Strong start for Team Asia
Right off the bat, Asia imposed its dominance over the Rest of the World, 5-1 in the team match.
Carlo Biado brought the team home after clearing the table from the break against Francisco Sanchez Ruiz.
Carlo Biado sees action in the team game. | Photo: RM Chua/One Sports
The two also opened the fray, with the visitor almost getting the run out, but botched his eighth ball.
Biado cleaned it up from there for the team's first victory.
Only Aloysius Yapp dropped a rack in the team game.
Yapp atones for mishap
Yapp more than made up for ceding a rack in the team game as he combined with Manas to best the Sanchez Ruiz-Jayson Shaw tandem, 5-2.
The visiting duo saved the match once and almost extended it again.
AJ Manas partners with Aloysius Yapp in the second match. | Photo: RM Chua/One Sports
But Sanchez Ruiz committed another blunder reminiscent of the one he made in the team game earlier.
The Spanish cue artist could not pocket the eighth ball from the opposite corner off a bounce, setting up the clean-up for Yapp and the 19-year-old Manas.
Experience over youth
Then, Biado proved experience trumps youth as he downed Neuhausen, 5-3.
After squandering two chances to wrap up the singles match, the reigning world champion stayed composed despite the mounting pressure.
What he did in Rack 8 was a stroke of brilliance, making a safety shot that strategically put the first ball right in front of the ninth in the corner.
It was the perfect position for Biado: one bad shot by his foe would give the Filipino a safe passage to the win.
That's exactly what happened as the 21-year-old Neuhausen's cue ball sailed off and barely grazed the first ball, before Biado exploited the situation and swished the 1-9 combination shot with ease.
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.