Bata, Django rip Thai foes to make strong bid in World Cup of Pool

Efren 'Bata' Reyes and Francisco 'Django' Bustamante, the country's legendary pair in the international billiards circuit, made a strong case in their title retention bid in the World Cup of Pool. Playing in front of a joyous local crowd that packed the Midtown East Wing of Robinsons Place in Ermita, Manila, the Philippines' dynamic duo showed too much class over their Thai counterparts and easily posted an 8-3 victory Tuesday. The Filipinos lost the first two racks, but the two world champions began to make their presence felt in the third rack and win nine of the last 10 racks since then en route to the easy victory. The win enabled the Philippines A squad to advance into the next round where it faces Indonesia on Thursday. Wednesday will be a break for the Filipino duo, who will have a chance to spend time on the practice table. "We really thought it's an alternate break format, but good thing we were able to recover after being down 0-2," said Bustamante, who recently won his first world title -- the World 9-Ball Championship in Doha, Qatar. "My break wasn't good. I was having a difficult time sinking a ball coming off a break, but good thing Efren played well," added Bustamante, who will coach the RP cue artists in the coming Guangzhou Asian Games in November. So dominant were the Filipinos with the 57-year-old Reyes imposing his will. Leading 7-3, Reyes made the break and sank three balls, sensing a clear victory for his squad. Reyes and Bustamante are seeking a third championship in this tournament. Their partnership is regarded as one of the most formidable duos in the World Cup of Pool, along with the German pair of double world champion Ralf Souquet and former straight ball champ Oliver Ortmann. Souquet and Ortmann made short work of their opponents from Hong Kong. The Germans defeated the partnership of Lee Chenman and Kenny Kwok, 8-4. Also advancing to the next round after wining Tuesday matches were: Italy, which nipped Korea, 8-6; China, which clobbered Belgium, 8-2; Indonesia, which nosed out India, 8-7; and Russia, which clobbered Canada, 8-4. - JVP, Rey Joble, GMANews.TV