Efren "Bata" Reyes, acknowledged as one of the greatest pool players of all time, bowed to eventual winner and fellow World Pool Champion Chia-Ching Wu of Taiwan, 11-6, in the quarter-final round but still wound up as the best Filipino finisher in the just concluded 40th All Japan Championships 2007 at the Hotel New Archaic Hall in Amagasaki-shi, Hyogo, Japan on Sunday.
The 53-year-old Reyes, prize fighter of RP billiards patron Aristeo "Putch" Puyat of Puyat Sports didn't go home empty handed as he received JPY250,000 after making it to the last eight along with 2001 WPC winner Mika "The Iceman" Immonen of Finland, 2004 WPC runner-up Pei Wei-chang of Taiwan and M. Tanaka of Japan who also lost their quarter-final matches.
The 18-year-old Wu, who took the WPC crown in 2005 Taiwan edition stopped the giant killing ways of T. Kuribayashi of Japan, 11-3, in the finals to pocket the top prize of JPY2,000,000.
On the way to the finals, Wu trounced last year's All Japan Champion Filipino Lee Vann Corteza, 11-6 (last 16), Reyes, 11-6 (last 8), H. Hijikata of Japan, 11-1, (last 4), then toppled Kuribayashi, 11-3, (finals).
Kuribayashi, who received the runner-up prize of JPY1,000,000, defeated two-time Asian Games 9-ball gold medalist Ching Shun Yang of Taiwan, 11-9 (last 16), compatriot Tanaka, 11-10 (last 8), 1996 WPC winner Ralf Souquet of Germany, 11-10 (last 4) before yielding to Wu, 11-3 (finals).
Corteza and Warren Kiamco from Negros Billiard Stable of Jonathan Sy, both received JPY125,000 for making it to the last 16. However, two other Filipino pool sharks, Francisco "Django" Bustamante and Ramil "Bebeng" Gallego failed to advance in the money round.
Meanwhile, Shu-Han Chang completed the Taiwanese domination after she bagged the women's crown by beating A. Otani of Japan, 9-5, in the championships round.
Chang also bested reigning Amway World Women's Champion Xiao Ting-pan of China, 9-7 in the quarter-final round then subdued Han Yu also from China, 9-6, in the semi-final round before crushing Otani, 9-5, in the finals
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