PRESSURE is on Team Asia as it seeks to win on home turf in the maiden staging of the Reyes Cup this week.
Even the great Efren "Bata" Reyes acknowledges that his side will be coming in as underdogs in this event.
"Itong mga Team Europe, lahat sila champion. Itong [Team Asia players], nabatak na rin sila sa laro kaya tingin ko pwede na rin [manalo]," he said on Monday during the press conference at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
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Reyes will serve as the captain for the Asian quintet which will be bannered by Johann Chua and Carlo Biado.
Chua, who just won the Hanoi Open on Sunday, would rather savor this opportunity as he looks to put on a show for his home fans.
"Playing here in these kind of events is one of my dreams, so I'm really excited for this and I don't really think about the pressure. I'm just gonna enjoy this," he said.
Also part of Team Asia are Ko Pin Yi of Chinese Taipei, Aloysius Yapp of Singapore, and Duong Quoc Hoang of Vietnam.
They will be facing Team Europe made up of Jayson Shaw of Scotland, Eklent Kaci of Albania, Mickey Krause of Denmark, and the Spanish duo of Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and David Alcaide.
Four-time Mosconi Cup winner Karl Boyes will serve as the team captain.
The event honoring the Filipino cue legend will be the Asia's version of the Mosconi Cup but this time will pit the best players from Asia against their European counterparts.
Five race-to-five 9-ball matches will be played in all four nights in a combination of singles, doubles, and team.
The first team to win 11 points will claim the Reyes Cup trophy.
"It's the inaugural event and its going to be incredible," said Matchroom CEO Emily Frazer.
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