“You very well know that all my matches were very tough,” said Reyes, who won his first three matches by 9-8 scores, to the predominantly Filipino audience and his Indonesian fans who cheered his triumph at the Hanggar Billiard and Recreation Center.  ”Yang had the best shot among all those I faced, but o­nce you’ve had empty breaks it’s really difficult to win,” added Reyes, ranked fifth in the world.

With the victory, the 50-year-old Reyes earned 70 ranking points o­n the o­nly qualifying tournament in Asia for the World Championships in Taiwan in July. He also bounced back from a quarterfinal defeat to compatriot Antonio “Gaga” Gabica in the first Tour leg in Singapore almost a month ago.  More significantly, Reyes avenged the losses of fellow Filipinos Lee Vann Corteza and Gandy Valle here to Yang, who also disposed of Japan’s Satoshi Kawabata with ease 11-6 in the second semis duel.

Yang’s loss to Reyes was eerily similar to that of his compatriot Wu Chia-Ching, who dropped the last five racks to the Filipino when his break likewise failed him in their semifinal match in the morning.  Ranked 38th in the world, Yang had taken a 3-1 lead o­n Reyes in the race-to-11 finals. But o­nce his break turned up empty in the decisive 13th frame with the match tied 6-6, he knew he would be settling for the $5,000 runner-up purse.

The turning point came when my break came up dry,” said Yang, who turned 27 o­n Sunday. “Also, I played too soon [after beating Kawabata], and I did not have enough time to relax before playing Reyes.”

In the semifinals, Reyes pulled off yet another thriller, rallying from three racks down to nip Taiwanese prodigy Wu 12-10 in a race-to-11 match extended another frame because of the win-by-two-racks rule.  Like in his wins over Kunihiko Takahashi, Indonesian Robby Suarly and Kuo Po-Cheng, it seemed all was lost for the Filipino top seed when, leading 6-4, he made two dry breaks and scratched o­n a 1-9 combo in the 14th frame, allowing the teenage Wu to sweep six of the next seven frames to go up 10-7.  But when “Taishan Boy” took his turn to break for the match in the 18th frame, it came up empty. Reyes couldn’t pounce o­n the opportunity right away because of a stubborn 2 ball, but Wu, o­nly 16, inadvertently helped him by misplaying the blue ball to the center of the table, allowing an easy run-out.  From there, “The Magician” cleaned up the next five racks, aided by another dry break in the 19th frame and a scratched cue in the 21st by the unseeded Wu, which Reyes turned into a 1-9 combo to the corner pocket for an 11-10 lead.  In the final rack, “Bata” pocketed two balls off the break and raised his cue stick in triumph when the last 9 ball went in, to the delight of both the Filipino and Indonesian fans who attended the mid-morning match.

Despite the loss, Wu said he felt it was his best chance to beat Reyes in four career meetings but regretted his luck ran out of him in an otherwise workmanlike performance.  “When Reyes made it ten-eight, I knew deep down that he would win,” said the boy wonder, the losing finalist to Valle in Singapore. “It’s very tough to win without a good break. I was doing OK, but I didn’t defend the table that well. I’ll do better next time.”

The San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour moves o­n to the third leg, which will be held in Kaoshiung, Taiwan o­n April 29 – May 1.

For more information o­n the Tour, please check out www.asian9-balltour.com. For the latest schedules and program information o­n ESPN STAR Sports, catch us o­n the net at www.espnstar.com.

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) in association with the All Indonesian Billiards Association. 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, Mandarin Oriental Jakarta is the official hotel and Hanggar Billiard & Recreation Center 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.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news o­n the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour.