Team Asia (Taka Wu/Matchroom Multi Sport)
Team Asia emerged with the lead after the opening day of the inaugural Reyes Cup, held at the stunning Ninoy Aquino National Stadium in Manila, Philippines, from October 15-18, 2024.
In partnership with Puyat Sports, this landmark event sees Asia’s top players go head-to-head against Europe’s finest, in a high-stakes competition on the World Nineball Tour. The tournament is being showcased globally via local broadcaster Cignal TV and Sky Sports in the UK.
Overall Score after Day One: Team Europe 2-3 Team Asia
Match One: Team Europe 5-4 Team Asia
Match Two: Ko Pin Yi & Aloysius Yapp 5-2 Francisco Sanchez Ruiz & David Alcaide
Match Three: Duong Quoc Hoang 5-2 Eklent Kaçi
Match Four: Jayson Shaw & Mickey Krause 5-3 Johann Chua & Carlo Biado
Match Five: Aloysius Yapp 5-4 Jayson Shaw
The inaugural Reyes Cup opened with a dramatic Teams Match, where Team Europe rallied from 4-1 down to secure a thrilling 5-4 victory over Team Asia.
Carlo Biado claimed the first rack for Asia, and Aloysius Yapp quickly followed with a 5-9 combo to extend their lead. Johann Chua and Duong Quoc Hoang continued Asia’s dominance, with Duong capitalising on David Alcaide’s mistakes to make it 4-0. Mickey Krause broke the streak for Europe with a 3-9 carom, and Kaçi added another to narrow the gap.
Yapp added to the misfortune of Team Asia missing a crucial 5-ball to allow Jayson Shaw to pull Europe closer. Francisco Sanchez Ruiz levelled the score to reach the hill with a perfect break-and-run. In the deciding rack, Alcaide took advantage of a missed 7-ball by Duong, completing Europe’s comeback to win 5-4 and take the first point of the Reyes Cup.
Ko Pin Yi and Aloysius Yapp secured Team Asia’s first point in the Reyes Cup, defeating Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and David Alcaide 5-2 in a doubles match.
Ruiz and Alcaide won the lag and claimed the opening rack, but Yapp and Ko responded with a break-and-run to level the score. The Spanish duo took the third rack, but Yapp and Ko fought back, taking the next after an intense exchange. A failed jump shot by Ruiz in the fifth gave Team Asia the lead, followed by Ko Pin Yi’s golden break for 4-2. Alcaide’s failed hook on the 2-ball in the final rack allowed Team Asia to close out the match 5-2.
In the first Singles Match of the tournament, Vietnam’s Duong Quoc Hoang faced off against Albania’s Eklent Kaçi.
Kaçi claimed the first rack after escaping Duong’s hook on the 1-ball, but Duong quickly retaliated, forcing a miss from Kaçi with a well-placed safety and sweeping the next rack. The Vietnamese cueist then capitalised off his own break, surging into a 2-1 lead. Kaçi attempted to slow Duong’s momentum but was again hooked on the 4-ball, leading to another foul and allowing Duong to extend his advantage.
Kaçi found his rhythm in the fifth rack, potting the 2-ball down the rail and gaining traction. He levelled the score 3-3 after a tight exchange of safeties. However, Duong broke and ran in the next rack to reach the hill, and when Kaçi scratched on the break in the final frame, Duong pounced, securing the win and another point for Team Asia.
Despite Johann Chua and Carlo Biado squaring off in the Hanoi Open semi-finals just days prior, the Filipino duo combined forces to face Europe’s Jayson Shaw and Mickey Krause in the second doubles match of the evening.
Chua and Biado started strong, winning the lag and breaking-and-running the opening rack. A fortunate fluke on the 3-ball by Chua saw Team Asia extend their lead to 2-0. The pair then executed another flawless break-and-run, closing in on a whitewash at 3-0. Mickey Krause, echoing his performance in the earlier teams’ match, interrupted Asia’s hopes of a clean sweep with a golden break in the fourth.
A failed safety on the 2-ball from the two Pinoys gave Shaw and Krause the opening they needed, sweeping the next two racks to level the score at 3-3. Shaw and Krause broke-and-ran again to edge ahead, turning the tide in Europe’s favour. Another dry break from Team Asia handed control to the Europeans, who sealed the match with a final run of the rack drawing the Teams score level at 2-2.
Mosconi veteran Jayson Shaw returned to the table to face Aloysius Yapp in the final match of the day, which would determine which team would take the lead in the race to 11 points.
Shaw quickly gained control, winning the first two racks. Yapp struggled with a dry break and a foul in the opening rack, which handed Shaw an early advantage. Shaw continued his momentum with a break-and-run in the second to lead 2-0.
Yapp, however, fought back in the third after Shaw failed to pot the 7-ball, allowing the young Singaporean to claim his first rack. Yapp then levelled the score after Shaw broke dry and failed to reclaim control of the table. The match saw some back-and-forth exchanges, with Yapp taking the lead in the following rack. Shaw responded with a golden break to bring the score back to 3-3.
The momentum shifted once again when Yapp hooked Shaw in the next rack, sweeping up to regain the lead and reach the hill. Shaw, undeterred, fought back to level the score once again, sending the match to the final rack. However, Yapp controlled the table in the decisive rack, sweeping up to claim the win. With the victory, Yapp put Team Asia ahead 3-2 as the first day of competition came to a close.
The stage is set for an exciting second day of Reyes Cup, with Team Asia leading by a single point.
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