TEAM Asia learned an object lesson in the opener of the inaugural Reyes Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium that ended late Tuesday night: never let your guard down.
In the first match featuring all five players in the team event, Team Asia’s seemingly comfortable 4-0 lead in the best-of-five series went up in smoke through the heroics of reigning European champ Mickey Krause, who broke the ice for Team Europe in the fifth face-off against Taiwanese Ko Pin-yi.
Krause pounced on the opening left by the former world 10 and 9-ball champ, sinking a difficult 3-9 combination on the left corner pocket that paved the way for the Europeans to complete a stunning 5-4 comeback.
Singaporean Aloysius Yapp saved the day for the Asians, mounting a rally of his own to edge Scottish veteran Jayson Shaw 5-4 in the fifth and last match of the series that lasted near midnight for a thrilling 3-2 win for Team Asia.
Yapp, who also won his match in the first event, combined with Ko in a rousing 5-2 upset of the fancied Spanish duo of Francesco Sanchez Ruiz, the 2023 world pool champion, and David Alcaide to knot the series at 1-all.
Buoyed by their success, Vietnamese ace Duong Quoc Hoang brought Albanian Eklent “Golden Eagle” Kaci down to earth 5-2 before Team Europe deadlocked the series with two wins each as Shaw and Krause downed newly-crowned Hanoi Open champion Johann Chua and compatriot Carlo Biado 5-3.
With the animated hometown crowd rooting for them, Chua and Biado looked set to finish their rivals off as they surged to a 3-0 lead, but Shaw and Krause refused to wilt, with Krause, dubbed “The Viking” Krause scoring a golden break in the fourth game that served as the springboard for the come-from-behind win.
It was left for the last singles match between Yapp and Shaw to decide the night’s winning squad, with the 28-year-old Singaporean cue artist winning the battle of nerves to ensure the predominantly Team Asia gallery did not go home disappointed and got their money’s worth.
Play resumed at 7:30 last night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium of the Mosconi Cup-style tournament named in honor of the celebrated Efren “Bata” Reyes, the Team Asia skipper, and jointly organized by English promoter Matchroom and Puyat Sports.
