World Cup of Pool: Reyes & Busta Majestic In Victory – Defending Champs USA KO’d by China

PHILIPPINES B consisting of Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante put in their best performance yet as they brushed aside the English challenge of Darren Appleton and Imran Majid 9-1 to advance to the semi-finals of the PartyCasino.net World Cup of Pool at the SM Mall North Annex in Manila on Saturday afternoon.
 
The legendary duo, who won this title back in 2006, look a fair bet now as they came alive at last following two less than stellar showings in the opening two rounds. They were certainly helped by the poor performances England who gave them plenty of opportunities which they feasted on.
 
It was disappointing for Appleton, the reigning World 10 Ball Champion as he was very excited about the match in advance but his sub-par performance along with that of his team mate meant they were never in the running.
 
Taking place in a sparkling new shopping mall in Quezon City, there were upwards of 1,200 people watching the match from every conceivable vantage point and the pro-Pinoy crowd got exactly what they wanted – a vintage show from their treasured national heroes.
 
In fact, England's sole success was the fourth rack where they went 3-1 behind but it was a hugely disappointing performance from the English duo on such a magnificent stage.
 
The Filipinos rode their luck at times but it was the seasoned Bustamante who led the team which some trademark flashy pots and tight safety.
 
The Philippines B team will now face the dangerous Chinese duo of Jianbo Fu and Hewen Li in Sunday afternoon's semi-finals.
 
“We just got lucky at the beginning when they missed a couple of balls but we played better today and we're very pleased to be in the semi-finals,” said a delighted Bustamante.
 
Earlier, defending champions USA crashed out of the tournament against the slick looking Chinese team. The American pairing of Shane Van Boening and Rodney Morris slumped to a 9-5 defeat in their quarter-final clash with 2007 winners Hewen and Jianbo Fu of China.
 
USA started well in front of another capacity crowd at the SM City North Annex in Manila, Philippines and quickly moved into a 3-1 lead. But the Chinese duo closed in on their third successive semi-final appearance by winning seven racks in a row for an 8-3 advantage.
 
America took the next two but any hopes of a sensational fightback ended in the 14th rack as China completed the victory.
 
Ninth seeds China will next play local heroes Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante, the Philippines B team, in the first semi-final at 1pm on Sunday.
 
USA's exit means no defending champions have managed to retain the trophy in the history of the World Cup of Pool. Li