Reyes saves best for last in Sian tour 9-ball final
<p>Reyes saves best for last in Sian tour 9-ball final</p><p>Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta</p><p> Despite flirting with defeat in earlier rounds, Efren "The
Magician" Reyes emerged the winner of the second leg of the San
Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour in Central Jakarta.</p><p>The Filipino had been lucky to narrowly beat Robby Suarly of
Indonesia, Chinese Taipei's Kuo Po-Cheng and teenage wonder boy
Wu Chia Ching of Chinese Taipei in the Sunday morning semifinal,
but he moved his game up a gear in an 11-6 win over Chinese
Taipei's Yang Chin-Sun.</p><p>In the final, Reyes and Yang, who was celebrating his 27th
birthday, were neck and neck until reaching 6-6.</p><p>But in frame 13, Yang made a poor break, allowing Reyes to
steal the rack to lead 7-6.</p><p>It was the lucky break that Reyes needed. As he prepared to
hit his last shot, Reyes gave a knowing smile and then raised his
arms in triumph after sending the ball into the pocket.</p><p>"The final was my best performance throughout the tournament,
with my opponent also playing well," the three-time world 8-ball
champion said.</p><p>Reyes, who will turn 51 in August, received the winner's check
of US$10,000.</p><p>Yang acknowledged that his temporary loss of concentration was
the decisive factor.</p><p>"The turning point is when the score was tied at 6-6 when I
made the break but no balls went into the pocket," the 2001 World
Games champion said.</p><p>"However, being the runner-up is an improvement for me, as I
finished third in Singapore."</p><p>In the semifinals earlier on Sunday, Yang defeated Japan's
Satoshi Kawabata 11-6, but only had a four-minute break before he
had to compete in the final.</p><p>Yang refused to use the short rest time as an excuse for his
loss, but did say that a 10-minute break would have given him
better preparation time.</p><p>Next stops on the tour are Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei, on April
29-May 1, and the final in Manila on June3-5.</p><p>All players in the Asian 9-ball Tour will also compete in the
Bali International Open, which starts on Monday.</p>
Magician" Reyes emerged the winner of the second leg of the San
Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour in Central Jakarta.</p><p>The Filipino had been lucky to narrowly beat Robby Suarly of
Indonesia, Chinese Taipei's Kuo Po-Cheng and teenage wonder boy
Wu Chia Ching of Chinese Taipei in the Sunday morning semifinal,
but he moved his game up a gear in an 11-6 win over Chinese
Taipei's Yang Chin-Sun.</p><p>In the final, Reyes and Yang, who was celebrating his 27th
birthday, were neck and neck until reaching 6-6.</p><p>But in frame 13, Yang made a poor break, allowing Reyes to
steal the rack to lead 7-6.</p><p>It was the lucky break that Reyes needed. As he prepared to
hit his last shot, Reyes gave a knowing smile and then raised his
arms in triumph after sending the ball into the pocket.</p><p>"The final was my best performance throughout the tournament,
with my opponent also playing well," the three-time world 8-ball
champion said.</p><p>Reyes, who will turn 51 in August, received the winner's check
of US$10,000.</p><p>Yang acknowledged that his temporary loss of concentration was
the decisive factor.</p><p>"The turning point is when the score was tied at 6-6 when I
made the break but no balls went into the pocket," the 2001 World
Games champion said.</p><p>"However, being the runner-up is an improvement for me, as I
finished third in Singapore."</p><p>In the semifinals earlier on Sunday, Yang defeated Japan's
Satoshi Kawabata 11-6, but only had a four-minute break before he
had to compete in the final.</p><p>Yang refused to use the short rest time as an excuse for his
loss, but did say that a 10-minute break would have given him
better preparation time.</p><p>Next stops on the tour are Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei, on April
29-May 1, and the final in Manila on June3-5.</p><p>All players in the Asian 9-ball Tour will also compete in the
Bali International Open, which starts on Monday.</p>