BATA IN, BARELY
SUPERIOR RACK DIFFERENTIAL TOWS REYES INTO ROUND OF 64

By Ian Brion
Reporter

Efren “Bata” Reyes missed another elementary shot, but hit his target of pocketing a crucial victory that kept his chance of snaring the championship alive in the 2006 World Pool Championship (WPC).
           
The 52-year-old pool legend barged into the knockout stages of the most prestigious 9-ball competition on the planet after scoring an 8-5 win over Indonesia’s Roy Apancho yesterday, much to the relief of the predominantly local crowd at the Philippine International Convention Center.
           
Needing no less than a win to save his bid and the Filipinos’ hearts from breaking, the second seed Reyes pulled off what could be his best showing so far in the $400,000 tournament and notched his second victory against one shocking defeat in Group 2.
           
“Ang gagaling talaga ng mga nakakalaban ko, hindi ko alam kung bakit ganoon sila ’pag ako kalaban nila,” said Reyes, the 1999 champion.
           
“Mabuti na lang naka-una ako sa lag, malaking bagay ’yun. Sa dalawang marunong kasi mabigat na partida ’yun una kang sasargo,” he added, noting that he did not get that advantage of breaking first in his first two matches.
           
In the match, Reyes and Apancho won the racks they opened until Reyes broke the trend in the sixth to go up 4-2. Apancho reached the hill five racks later.
           
The Indonesian, who came into the match needing only to score four racks to move into the last 64, won the 12th. He looked headed to cutting Reyes’s lead to one, when he sank the first eight balls in the 13th.
           
But the Indonesian muffled the striped nine to hand Reyes the table.
           
Reyes, however, also failed to pocket the gimme.
           
Good thing, Apancho had already shaken Reyes’s hand—a gesture of concession—and the man heavily tipped to win the holy grail of billiards is moving on to the next stage.
           
Despite the loss, Apancho clinched a spot in the last 64. There was actually a three-way tie among Reyes, Apancho, and American Tony Crosby, who all finished their group-play assignments with identical 2-1 win-loss slates.
           
But by virtue of winning 23 racks, Reyes took the group top spot, while Apancho, who had 21, edged Crosby (20) for the last berth. Crosby won against Poland’s Radoslaw Babica, 8-5, yesterday.
           
“I feel a little sick,” said Crosby, who defeated Reyes, 8-7, on opening day. “But life goes on. I’ll go back to Florida, take some rest, and continue playing.”
           
“I’ll just relish the memory of beating Efren,” he added.
           
Reyes’s feat came after Lee Van Corteza became the first Filipino to enter the knockout phase as the Southeast Asian Games gold medalist blasted Croatia’s Philipp Stojanovic, 8-3, for his second win in as many matches.
           
The 27-year-old Davao City native still has  one more game to play, but is already secured a slot in the last 64, as ninth-ranked Thomas Engert of Germany also picked up his second victory by beating Australia’s Stuart Lawler, 8-1, in the other Group 9 play.
           
“At least wala na akong kaba bukas,” said Corteza who will meet with Engert today. “Anuman ang mangyari sa amin ni Engert ay pareho na kaming pasok sa last 64,’yun ang importante sa ngayon.”
           
Japan-based Filipino Rudy Morta also booked a ticket to the next round by thumping Jeong Young-hwa, 8-1. It was the 41-year-old Morta’s second victory in three games as he joined No. 13 Marcus Chamat of Sweden in emerging out of Group 13.
           
Gandy Valle, meanwhile, trounced Qatar’s Ahmed Al Sada, 8-2, to bounce from his first loss, a hill-hill decision to Sandor Tot of Serbia and Montenegro in Group 15.
           
Santos Sambajon, on the other hand, defeated compatriot Jose “Amang” Parica, 8-4, for a 1-1 record in Group 23. Parica dropped to 0-2.
           
In Group 32, Englishman Daryl Peach defeated Ramil Gallego, 8-4, to bag a slot in the next round, while sending Gallego’s hopes in limbo.
           
Gallego, who won his first two matches, must now pray that American Robb Saez wins over Thailand’s Tepwin Arrunath in the late-night match or for Saez to at least score three racks.
           
Besides Garcia, another Filipino who is already out of contention is Eduardo Villanueva (Group 30).
           
In the knockout stage, qualifiers will be ranked based on rack differential (racks won minus racks lost) in the Group Play. No. 1 will play No. 64, No. 2 will go up against No. 63, and so on.
           
Meanwhile, the World Pool-Billiards Association (WPA) meted American Earl Strickland a stern warning for his unruly behavior during his match against Chinese-Taipei’s Ying-chieh Chen Sunday.
           
In a statement it issued in response to the protest lodged by Chen and the Chinese-Taipei Billiards Association, the WPA warned Strickland, the only three-time winner of the WPC, that any future misbehavior will warrant his expulsion in the ongoing tournament and forfeiture of his matches.
           
The incident saw Strickland throwing his cue to the ground following every visit to the table, audibly swearing to the audience and threatening to hit his opponent over the head with his cue when Chen refused to shake hands at the end of the match.
           
Strickland apologized, admitting that his conduct was indeed unacceptable.