Asian 9 Ball Tour - Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante Ousted

Singapore, 5 March... The upset axe fell heavily on the top two seeds as Efren 'Bata' Reyes and Francisco 'Django' Bustamante were unceremoniously booted out in the quarter-final round of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour at the Suntec Singapore Exhibition Hall 404.

Reyes fell to fellow Filipino Antonio Gabica, 9 – 4, while Bustamante suffered a monumental collapse and bowed down to Yang Ching Shun of Chinese Taipei, 9 – 7.

Gabica posted his second straight triumph over the legendary Reyes as the native of Lapu-Lapu City in the Philippines beat the top seed a week ago in the Hope P1 Million All-Filipino Billiards Open in Manila.

'I was nervous, but I was lucky with my breaks,' said Gabica, who led 3-0 and never trailed in the match.

It was a stunning defeat for Reyes, who ruled three of the five legs of the Asian 9 Ball Tour last year. 'Every shot that he (Gabica) attempted fell in even if it was covered. On the other hand, every break wasn’t given to me,' Reyes remarked in Filipino.

Meanwhile, the second-seeded Bustamante suffered an even-more gut-wrenching setback as he blew a 6-0 advantage and allowed Yang to seize momentum and eventually steal the victory.

The former world number one committed crucial errors in the ninth and tenth rack as the cue ball fell into the pocket. Yang, who topped last year’s Hong Kong leg, capitalized on his opponents’ errors as he won five straight racks to make it 6 – 5.

Bustamante got some breathing room when he made it 7 – 5, but Yang proved tougher down the stretch as he took the final four racks to close out the

Yang will meet upstart Gandy Valle of the Philippines in the semi-finals tomorrow. The 28-year old Valle booked a seat in the final four after subduing countryman Lee Vann Corteza, 9-5.

In the other quarter-final match, 16 year-old Wu Chia Ching of Chinese Taipei continued his magical run as he disposed off hometown bet Chan Keng – Kwang, 9 – 6. Wu will tangle with Gabica to determine who will make it to the final round.

After Singapore, the next stops of the 9-ball tour will be Jakarta, Kaohsiung and Manila. The top 10 players on the Tour Order of Merit qualify into the World Professional Pool Championships.

The San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union and organized by ESPN STAR Sports’ Event Management Group (EMG). 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 and the Marina Mandarin is the official hotel, Suntec Singapore is the official venue. STAR Sports is the official broadcaster. The 2005 Tour will go to Singapore, Jakarta, Kaohsiung and Manila. Besides the total prize money of US$200,000, the top 10 players on the Tour Order of Merit every year will directly qualify into the World Professional Pool Championships.

ESPN Star - 6/3/2005