COMING from an early exit in the Hanoi Open going into the initial Reyes Cup, Singapore’s Aloysius Yapp seemed to be the weakest link for Team Asia pitted against powerhouse Team Europe in four days of competition at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
In the end, Yapp emerged as the X factor and hero as Team Asia captured the inaugural tournament named in honor of pool legend Efren “Bata” Reyes with an emphatic 11-6 triumph over the experienced Europeans early Saturday morning.
With Team Europe threatening another comeback at 6-10 after winning three of the first four matches, the boyish-looking Singaporean rose to the occasion, humbling 2023 world 9-ball champion Francesco Sancez Ruiz 5-1 to wrap things up.
The youngest member Team Asia at 28, Yapp did not drop a single match in the race-to-11 series and earned Most Valuable Player honors, with his jubilant teammates giving him a well-deserved victory ride as the hometown gallery erupted in delight.
Taiwanese Ko Pin-yi and Vietnamese Duong Quoc Hoang had earlier topped Ruiz and reigning European pool champ Mickey Krause of Spain 5-3 to give the Asians a 10-4 edge in the second match after Spain’s David Alcaide nipped hometown bet Johan Chua in the opening singles play.
Called for double singles duty by Team Europe skipper Karl Boyes, Scottish cue master Jayson Shaw downed Carlo Biado 5-3 in his first match then completed a sweep by vanquishing Vietnam’s Duong Quoc Hoang 5-2 to narrow the gap to 6-10.
Hardly awed by the reputation of his celebrated rival, Yapp surged to a 3-1 lead in the race-to-5 fifth match then pounced on Ruiz’s foul as he tried to hit the 3-ball from a difficult angle, reaching the hill at 4-1.
With local fans shouting “Uwian na!” as he sank the 2-ball in the side pocket on the break, the Singapore ace sent Ruiz packing by coolly sinking the rest of the ball, sealing the deal by potting the 9-ball on the same pocket where he began.
“I was thinking of nothing else during the final rack. I was just focused. I had some mistakes at the start of the week but my team still supported me. This MVP is not just for me, I believe all of my teammates are the MVPs,” Yapp said at the post-match press conference, displaying humility.
“Even Efren, he is the best coach you can ever ask for,” the player added, smiling.
“They played good and we were lucky,” Reyes, the skipper of the team, said of the outstanding performances of his players as he savored the milestone maiden win of Team Asia.
Speaking on behalf of his teammates, Chua, who acted as Reyes’ deputy, said “this is a priceless moment for all of us. To be part of this with champ Efren. We are really proud to be here.”
Chua, the newly-crowned Hanoi Open champion, added he was glad that Yapp won the MVP trophy “because I really wanted either Aloysius or Hoang to win it with the way they played for us. We are really proud of Yapp.”
