Bata, Django advance to Final 4

Efren "Bata" Reyes pulled off a pair of 9-4 victories yesterday to barge into the Final Four of the $64,000 First Café Puro Philippine Open and Invitational 9-ball championship at the Octagon Hall of the Robinson’s Galleria.

Displaying superb pocketing, Reyes played a near-flawless game and outclassed 14-year-old Chia Ching Wu of Chinese Taipei in the Last 16 before outduelling American Corey Deuel late in the afternoon to stay in the hunt for the top $20,000 purse in this four-day event sponsored by Café Puro.

Francisco "Django" Bustamante fought back from three racks down in the early going to nip Korean Jeong Young Hwa, 9-8, and arrange a semis duel with 2001 world pool champion Mika Immonen of Finland. Immonen easily disposed of Satoshi Kawabata of Japan, 9-2.

Bustamante, who with Reyes spearhead the RP team in next week’s SEA Games in Vietnam, earlier fashioned out a 9-5 win against fellow SEA Gamer Antonio Lining to advance to the quarterfinals.

But the twin victories set up Reyes, winner of last week’s the All-Japan Open in Osaka, against compatriot Leonardo "Dodong" Andam in a race-to-11 duel scheduled at 4 p.m. today aired live at Studio 23.

Like Reyes, the 44-year-old Andam, winner of five gold medals in three Southeast Asian Games editions, played with clockwork precision, thumping Antonio Gabica en route to a 9-4 victory.

"Nung una medyo tense ako kasi lamang nga siya," said Andam, a Mantakaw, Misamis Oriental native. "Pero nag-relax lang ako at naghintay at nung nagkamali na siya, dun na nawala ang kaba ko."

Andam, who had to go through the tough qualifying stages to make it into the main draw, had to turn back another giant-slayer Rene Cruz, 9-2, in the round-of-16 to make it to the Last 8.

Jeong, for his part, is riding the crest of a stunning 9-5 triumph over reigning World Pool titlist Thorsten Hohmman of Germany in what proved to be the worthiest win of the day.