Efren 'Bata' Reyes and Francisco 'Django' Bustamante

Reyes, Bustamante to defend title
 

MANILA, Philippines – The prestigious Partypoker.net World Cup of Pool, a battle among nations, returns to Manila with the tandem of Filipino pool legends Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante leading the way for the country’s bid alongside the pair of Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo and Roberto “Pinoy Superman” Gomez.

According to Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) founding chief Ceferino “Perry” Mariano, as host country, the Philippines has the privilege of fielding 2 teams to the competition that will run from September 7 to 12.

Reyes and Bustamante will make up RP team A, while Orcollo and Gomez will carrying the RP flag team B.

“I believe they’re our strongest bets," Mariano said, referring the pairs of Reyes and Bustamante and as well Orcollo and Gomez, who have been performing well in recent international competitions.

“I think we have a strong chance to retain the World Cup of Pool crown,” said Aristeo “Putch” Puyat, BMPAP co-founder.

Reyes and Bustamante, playing under the banner of Puyat Sports, ruled the inaugural edition of the event in 2006 in England, where they beat Americans Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris.

Last Year, Reyes and Bustamante rallied from a, 7-9 deficit to beat the tandem of Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany and reclaim the coveted title. They took home the $60,000 top prize in the competition held at the SM North Edsa Annex in Quezon City.

Reyes, the 2010 Player of the Decade, said for his part: “The key is really listening to your teammate... But this kind of tournament is difficult to predict because some of the strongest teams may not do well, and the perceived weak teams may play really well.”

The entire event will be broadcast by Solar Sports live across the Philippines with the feed of the tournament available internationally. In addition, Matchroom Sport will be producing hourly highlights of the event.

Meanwhile, Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn said: “We are delighted to be returning to the Philippines after having enjoyed last year one of the greatest pool tournaments we have ever promoted."

“The World Cup of Pool is fast becoming the biggest pool tournament in the world, and we are delighted to see its continued growth in Asia and around the world,” he said.

Other stars of the pool world scheduled to take part include World Champions Ralf Souquet and Oliver Ortmann (Germany), Daryl Peach and Karl Boyes (England), Johnny Archer (USA) and Mika Immonen (Finland).

Other top draws coming to Manila are Marcus Chamat (Sweden), Niels Feijen (Holland), Tony Drago (Malta) and a host of big names yet to be announced. – by Marlon Bernardino

Nations Competing

Austria
Croatia
England
Finland
France
Germany
Holland
Italy
Malta
Poland
Russia
Spain
Sweden
China
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Japan
Korea
Malaysia
Philippines 1
Philippines 2* (host country)
Singapore
Taiwan
Thailand
Vietnam
Australia
Canada
Qatar
USA