Bata bags Texas One Pocket crown

MANILA, Philippines - Efren “Bata” Reyes came back from the one-loss-you-die side to beat American Shannon Daulton twice in the finals to rule the Galveston Classic One Pocket tournament at the Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention Center in Galveston City, Texas Thursday.

It was Reyes’s third consecutive victory in less than a month after he ruled the Kadayawan leg of the Villar Cup in Davao City and the 2009 World Cup of Pool with Francisco “Django” Bustamante in Quezon City.

The 55-year-old pool legend, a member of the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines and Sen. Manny Villar’s Team Villards, dropped to the losers’ bracket late in the elimination round but bounced back by beating Cliff Joyner to gain the second finals slot against erstwhile unbeaten Daulton.

Reyes, regarded as one of the best One Pocket players in the world, bucked the odds in the championship, beating the American in the first match, 3-1, then scoring a thrilling 3-2 win in the next to cop the crown worth $25,000.

Meanwhile, Reyes is set to take on fellow Asian pool legend Chao Fong-pang in Face Off Series 3 - The Grandmasters slated Oct. 28-29 at the Club Capo Exclusive on Tomas Morato, QC.

The match, a race-to-50, 9-ball affair, is the Face Off Series’ and Club Capo’s next event after the showdown between former world No.1 Dennis Orcollo and Taiwanese Yang Ching-shun.

The Face Off Series 3 is presented by Club Capo in cooperation with JBET.net, Bugsy Promotions, Puyat Sports and Nuvo City.