IF there are still questions on whether AJ Manas deserves to be on this big stage in the Reyes Cup 2025, the 18-year-old just smashed those doubts into pieces.
The talented teen shone brightest on Friday and carried Team Asia to a stunning 7-0 lead against Team Rest of the World, including a massive singles victory against Fedor Gorst.
READ: Team Asia storms to 7-0 lead as teen AJ Manas comes of age
Not bad for someone who was only a wildcard pick and many believed was chosen for his popularity on social media.
But Team Asia captain Francisco "Django" Bustamante would digress, saying that he always believed Manas belonged on this table.
"Nung binigyan ako ng wildcard pick ng Matchroom, sinabi ko talaga na kukunin ko si AJ Manas kasi nagagalingan ako sa kanya. Team Philippines din siya at nakikita ko yung tira niya 'pag nagpa-practice kami kaya ang sabi ko siya ang kukunin ko kasi siya ang future world champion natin na parating," he said.
"Di naman ako nagsisisi."
Manas, for his part, attributed his Day 2 success to one simple thing: confidence.
"Sobrang kumportable ko ngayong araw," said the Antipolo City native. "Nakauna kami noong unang araw tsaka nanalo rin yung unang team match namin, so naging mas komportable ako noong singles and doubles match namin."
Manas won two racks in the 5-3 teams match victory, including pocketing the 9 in rack 8 to clinch the win and rode that wave of momentum to his next two matches.
Engaged in a hill-hill affair against Gorst and almost seemingly dead in the water, the world No. 1 committed a foul when his shirt touched the 7-ball, giving Manas ball in hand to pot the next four balls to take the 5-4 triumph.
AJ, all day
But as they say, that's how it really is in billiards: sometimes you're good, sometimes you get lucky. And for today, Manas was both.
"Tingin ko, bwenas na lang ako kasi na-foul siya noong last hill-hill match namin," he said of that final rack in his first face-off with Gorst.
"Tingin ko, wala na akong kapana-panalo sa pwesto ng bola kasi napakadali na nun. Pero tingin ko yung nangyari, himala na lang."
No miracle, though, was his doubles win with Johann Chua against Gorst and Jayson Shaw, as they fought back from a 1-2 deficit and strung the last four to win, 5-2.
Easily, winning twice over Gorst ranks among the greatest achievements to date for Manas and he only sees this as a huge morale boost for his career moving forward.
"Siyempre nakaka-boost ng confidence lalo na yung kalaban mo is world No. 1. At the same time, natalo ko rin siya, so mas naging kumportable lalo ako dito sa Reyes Cup," he said.
Safe to say, expect 'Starboy' to glitter a little bit more.
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