Reyes-Bustamante pair battles Germans for title

Efren “Bata" Reyes and Francisco “Django" Bustamante were left out to carry the torch for the Philippines after Germany’s Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann eliminated Filipinos Dennis Orcollo and Ronnie Alcano in the 2009 PartyCasino.net World Cup of Pool Sunday at the SM North Edsa. Souquet and Hohmann frustrated the pair of Orcollo and Alcano behind a 9-6 win in their semifinal encounter, and arranged a duel with Reyes and Bustamante for the title and the top prize of $60,000. Reyes and Bustamante beat out China's Fu Jian-bo and Li He-wen in a classic hill-hill battle of the first semifinal pair, 9-8, but the highly-anticipated all-Filipino finale didn't materialize as the Germans played the spoiler’s role. "Philippines-Germany is the better finale. It's gonna be a great match," said Hohmann. "Efren Reyes is my favorite player. A final match with him and his partner Django Bustamante will be another highlight of my career," said Souquet. Hohmann and Souquet foiled the looming all-Filipino final as they pounced on crucial misses by Alcano in the critical moment of their semifinal match. The second seeded RP-A had just drawn level with Germany at 6-6 when Alcano committed key miscues, allowing the Germans to regain momentum and go on to win the match watched by a big crowd, including Filipino world boxing champion Brian Viloria. Alcano and Orcollo, among the younger stars in the deep pool of Filipino billiards talents, settled for a semis finish worth $16,000 in the elite event. The celebrated Reyes-Bustamante pair clinched the first finals seat by outlasting the Chinese duo in a nerve-wracking battle. Rallying at the finish, the Chinese put the Filipino pair and their fans on the edge of their seats, only to blink in the most crucial moment of the epic match. At 8-8, Fu missed a 1-2 carom to yield the table to the Filipinos. Reyes and Bustamante did not waste time to seize the opportunity, clearing the table to the delight of the crowd. - GMANews.TV