INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines ? The biggest names in Philippine billiards are on top of the world again.

Summoning all the guile and poise that made them one of the world?s most recognizable players, Efren ?Bata? Reyes and Francisco ?Django? Bustamante toppled Germany?s Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann with an enthralling 11-9 triumph in the finals of the PartyCasino.Net World Cup of Pool in Quezon City Sunday night.

A loud roar reverberated throughout the jampacked SM City North Annex when Reyes pocketed the 9 ball to clinch the win for the Filipino pool legends, who reclaimed the crown they first won in 2006.

?Although we are old, we are still winning,? said Bustamante.

?Thank you, our countrymen, for your support,? Reyes said.

Reyes and Bustamante, the first double-champion of the tournament, zoomed to an early lead, floundered midway, before regaining their rhythm by winning five of the last six racks.

They clinched the $60,000 purse in the four-day tournament and ended a string of disappointing results in the past two years.

After reaching the hill by pouncing on Souquet?s miss on the orange 5, the Filipinos won a protracted safety battle in the 20th rack with superior positional plays and precise pocketing under pressure.

Time and again, Reyes wove his old magic, while Bustamante proved precise in his pocketing in one of the most thrilling encounters in World Cup history.

The Filipinos stormed to a 3-0 advantage with Reyes and Bustamante capitalizing on two errors, including Hohmann?s miss on the brown 7 in the second rack and Souquet?s poor counter-safety on the blue 2 in the next frame.

Reyes buried a difficult kick shot on No. 1 to pave the way for a cleanup that gave the Filipinos a 4-2 lead.

Bustamante and Reyes blundered away the eighth and ninth racks with Django misfiring on an easy shot on the brown 7 and Bata rattling out the green 6.

The Germans completed their first break and runout to tie the match, 5-5, and then seized the lead for the first time in the next rack, before the Filipinos equalized at 6-all on Hohmann?s error on the green 6.

Souquet, hoping to erase the stigma of his loss to Ronnie Alcano in the 2006 World 9-ball Championship finals, nailed a pressure-packed long shot on the 9 to lift the Germans, 8-6.

The Germans earlier eliminated the RP-A tandem of Dennis Orcollo and Ronnie Alcano, 9-6, in the semifinals. They returned to the table less than two hours later to face Reyes and Bustamante, who survived a hill-hill battle with China?s Fu Jianbo and Li Hewen, 9-8.

The Filipinos reached the hill first against the Chinese at 8-6, but they needed a break in the 17th rack to seal the win.

Fu failed to convert on a 1-2 combination that opened up the table and led to a runout and the clincher for the Filipinos, who never trailed during the entire match.

Two straight break and runouts gave the Filipinos an early 5-1 lead before the Chinese threatened at 4-6.