INQUIRER Sports

THE POOL PALS stopped short of saying their partnership was made in heaven.

But Efren ?Bata? Reyes and Francisco ?Django? Bustamante talked about each other with so much fascination it was obvious their success together is anchored on recognition of each other?s strengths.

Long known as the torchbearers of Philippine billiards, Reyes and Bustamante achieved another milestone Sunday night when they hacked out a nail-biting 11-9 victory over Germany?s Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann to rule the PartyCasino.Net World Cup of Pool for a record second time before a delirious crowd at the SM City North Annex.

The Filipino duo topped the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2006.

?I?m really proud when I play with Pareng Efren,? Bustamante said. ?Our style of play is a good match. He is good with bank shots and my strength is pocketing.?

?We understand each other,? said Reyes, who along with Bustamante are playing in a series of tournaments in the United States, including the US Open on Oct. 18 in Virginia.

Bustamante feeds off Reyes? energy and it seems he has the same effect on his partner.

?We were missing easy shots and we were ignoring each other,? said Bustamante. ?I told him that if you remain silent there, I?ll lose hope of winning. It?s a good thing it turned out okay in the end.?

The Germans were actually two racks away from ruining a fairy-tale ending for the Filipino pool legends, who looked firmly in control with a 5-2 lead.

"We lost our rhythm after I missed that shot on the six,? Bustamante said.

Souquet clinched the rack with a long shot for a 9-7 lead.But Reyes and Bustamante, although struggling with their break, held their nerves to take the last four racks.

?I told Pareng Django that we should play smart because our break wasn?t going for us,? Reyes said in Filipino.

?He told me it?s going to be a struggle but we were going to get there,? said Bustamante.

Reyes made two pressure-laden shots, a bank shot on the orange 5 in the 17th rack and a 7-8 combination that tied the match at 9.

But the loudest cheer came when Reyes sank the title-clinching shot in the 20th rack.

?We haven?t won a major title in a while and it feels great to win in front of your countrymen,? Reyes added.