WAS there any doubt?
Team Asia retained the championship in style, claiming the second edition of the Reyes Cup with a methodical 11-3 triumph over Team Rest of the World on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
AJ Manas, that 18-year-old sensation, dazzled in front of an enthusiastic crowd as he got the job done in his doubles match pairing with world champion Carlo Biado, enough for him to be named as the Cuetec MVP.
READ 'Django's pick' AJ Manas proving he belongs in Reyes Cup
Their tandem got the better of the duo of Fedor Gorst and Moritz Neuhausen for the 5-2 clincher as the Francisco "Django" Bustamante-captained Team Asia retained the title named in honor of his good friend, the great Efren "Bata" Reyes.
'Starboy' pulled off an amazing jump on 2 that turned into a safety, leaving the ball hanging on the corner pocket and forcing Neuhausen to commit the foul as the Asians wiped the rack to get to the hill at 4-1.
Manas followed it up with a superb long pot on the 2 as they cleaned up the table with Biado potting the championship-winning 9-ball.
Aloysius Yapp put the Asians on the brink of greatness with a huge 5-1 victory over Jayson Shaw in their singles match.
The reigning US Open champion jumped to an early 4-0 lead highlighted by a 2-9 combo on rack 4. Yapp failed to complete the whitewash when he committed the foul on 2 in the next rack allowing Shaw to get on the board, but he got the table back after the Scot missed on the 5 in rack 6.
Team Rest of the World didn't go down without a fight. Shaw and Skyler Woodward won their doubles match against Yapp and Duong Quoc Hoang, 5-2.
Taking advantage of the Asians' struggles on the break, Team ROW grabbed a 4-1 lead before Duong's dry break in rack 7 allowed Shaw to close the match out on a 3-9 combo.
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz also got the better of a lethargic Johann Chua to take the 5-3 win in their singles match.
Tied at 3-3, the Spaniard won the safety battle on the 2 in rack 7 and pounced on Bad Koi leaving the 3 hanging in the next to clean up the next two racks.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
