INQUIRER Sports

Efren ?Bata? Reyes proved he?s far from hanging his cue stick for good, when the billiards Hall of Famer came through with another Houdini act, escaping Taiwanese icon Fong Pang Chao, 50-42, in their Face Off Series 2: The Grandmasters duel last Thursday at Club Capo Exclusive in Quezon City.

Reyes, who trailed, 18-25 in the first day of their two-day encounter, received $10,000 to add the title to his recent victory in the One Pocket division of the 2009 World Classic Galveston in Texas, USA.

The 55-year-old Reyes capped his incredible comeback by winning 14 straight racks to seize the lead at 32-26 and never looked back.

The win avenged Dennis ?Robocop? Orcollo?s, 50-45 loss to Taiwanese Yang Ching-Shun in their own face-off last September.

On Day One last Wednesday, the two former World 9-ball champions split the first 10 racks. However, Chao claimed the next three to go up 8-5 before Reyes came back and tied the score at 11-all.

It was a seesaw battle in the next six racks with both players breaking dry, until Chao uncorked a 4-0 blast to take an 18-14 lead.

Reyes stopped the bleeding by pocketing the next two frames, but Chao countered with six straight racks for the biggest lead of the match at 24-16. The Filipino Magician scored two more points before allowing his opponent to close out the opening day.

The Reyes-Chao match is part of a series of challenge matches Club Capo is putting up. The exclusive membership club is planning to pit eight other pairs of world-class cue artists each year.

It has also lined up a match pitting former double world champions Ronnie Alcano and Ralf Souquet of Germany.

Club Capo Exclusive is also eyeing a match between Francisco ?Django? Bustamante against American Rodney Morris and Lee Van Corteza opposite Shane Van Boening in November.