The Iceman’s hot

Christmas came early for Mika Immonen of Finland as he ran away with a 11-6 victory over Efren "Bata" Reyes and the $15,000 winner’s check last night in the LG Flatron 9-Ball Challenge at the Casino Filipino Parañaque.

"It’s great to beat Efren in his home turf. It really feels great. Early Christmas this is and the money will be spent wisely," said Immonen after the well-deserved victory which came 17 days before his 30th birthday. He has a twin brother, named Karl, back home.

A highly-appreciative crowd came to see the finals but failed to witness the best of Reyes who just turned cold against the player known in the world pool circuit as "The Iceman."

Reyes missed two routine shots right on the first rack and was never the same again, falling behind, 6-0, and 8-1, as Immonen cleared the racks on his first four breaks. Reyes got the crowd going 13th, 14th and 15th racks, converting on a couple of magical shots that still fell short in the end.

"Wala rin, talo rin," he told the crowd after winning the 13th rack that eventually pushed him to within 9-6. Immonen then took the next two racks and wrapped up the 80-minute match by sinking the yellow nine on the right corner pocket.

It won’t be a bleak Christmas for Reyes, however, as he went home with $10,000.

In the battle for third, Francisco "Django" Bustamante never got his game going, missing shots he normally makes and allowing Earl "The Pearl" Strickland of the US to post a 9-2 victory and pocket the bigger purse of $7,500.

Bustamante, who also lost to Strickland in a classic battle for the world crown in Cardiff, Wales last July, missed what looked like easy shots six times, failed to convert on his break twice and scratched the cue ball to settle for $5,000.

"Wala talaga. Hindi na ginanahan ang hindi magpapasok ang tira. Sa sargo, wala din. Malakas naman pero dalawang beses walang pumasok. Nung hininaan naman, na-scratch. Ganoon talaga," said Bustamante, who came into the tournament fresh from back-to-back victories in Japan.

Before the match started, Strickland told The STAR that he was not playing well the last couple of months and that he was "ready to lose" against Bustamante. However, it turned out that the Tarlac sports hero was to turn in probably his worst performance this year.

"I still don’t feel like a pearl. There’s a lot to think about what’s going on with my game," said Strickland, who got off to a 6-1 start and never trailed.

Serving as an appetizer to the finals of the three-day, four-man duel and filling the good-sized crowd with delight were hardcourt superstar Vergel Meneses and reigning IBF super bantamweight champion Manny Pacquiao who figured in an exhibition match won by the smaller but wiser boxer, 5-3.

Dennis Orcullo of Puyat Sports also engaged Sweden’s Marcus Chamat in an exhibition match but lost, 5-2.