World 8-Ball: Reyes joins 'Django' thru exit door

A day after reigning World 9-ball champion and current world No.1 player Francisco “Django" Bustamante bowed out of contention, his buddy, Efren “Bata" Reyes, quickly followed him through the exit door in the World 8-Ball Championship. On Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila), Reyes faltered and lost to his younger, unheralded compatriot, Joven Alba, 5-9, in the knockout stage of the tournament at the Fujairah Exhibition Center in Fujairah United Arab Emirates. Reyes, winner of the World 9-Ball and World 8-Ball titles, joined Bustamante and power-breaking Jeff de Luna as among the notable Pinoy players already booted out of this first ranking event of the World Pool-Billiard Association. Bustamante lost twice in a row in Stage 1 of the tournament -- a 6-7 setback against former World 9-Ball champion Daryl Peach and a 3-7 loss to David Alcaide of Spain. But Reyes’ debacle was a painful one. He went undefeated after Stage 1, only to lose steam against his younger counterpart in the knockout stage of the event. The last 56 players in the tournament undergo an elimination round where every game is played as a must-win. It was a day of upsets indeed, as another former world champion, Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, was also eliminated from the race. Hohmann lost to Takhti Zarekani in a hill-hill encounter, 8-9. Ronnie Alcano, a double world champion like Reyes, advanced into the next phase after beating Shaker Wadan, 9-2. He will face former World Straight Ball champion Oliver Ortmann of Germany. Two Filipino players took a bye in the opening round of the knockout stage – Antonio Lining and Oliver Medinilla. They start their bid Thursday with the veteran Lining taking on Dalmatin while Medenilla meets the winner of the Peach-Vilmos Foeldes encounter. - KY, Rey Joble, GMA News