By MARK REY MONTEJO
Non-playing captain Francisco “Django” Bustamante was right after all.
AJ Manas is indeed a gem of a player, reason why the legendary Bustamante made the “Young Gun” part of Team Asia.
And on Friday, Oct. 17, Manas repaid the trust and faith placed on him as helped the Asian bets cruise past Team Rest of the World (ROW) anew and into a 7-0 lead in the 2025 Reyes Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
They all played great but it was the 19-year-old Manas who shone the brightest as he stunned world No. 1 American Fedor Gorst, 5-4, in their hill-hill Match Six showdown to push Team Asia closer to sweeping their race-to-11 meet that was created to honor sports icon Efren “Bata” Reyes.
Manas nearly blew a 4-2 lead as the two-time world champion forced a decider, but the Filipino prodigy steadied himself and took advantage of a crucial error from Gorst, who accidentally touched the No. 7 ball when he was trying to sink No. 6.
Immediately after the foreign bet’s blunder, the crowd, including no less than Reyes, started to celebrate as Manas flashed his brilliance and swiftly buried the last four game balls. It was an electric atmosphere after that.
“It feels unbelievable. Last year I was watching the Reyes Cup wishing I could be part of Team Asia, now I’m living that dream,” Manas told Matchroom Pool.
“To get a win over World Number One, someone I really look up to, is crazy. I’m proud, but I’m not done yet. I want to help Asia finish this the right way,” he added.
Prior to his upset win over Gorst, Manas had already taken over the momentum in Match Five, where he and Vietnam’s Duong Quoc Hoang steered Team Asia back on track after falling to 0-2 hole earlier as Gorst and Scottish Jayson Shaw flashing their brilliance on Philippine soil.
Their assault went on as Johann Chua and Carlo Biad put Asia ahead, 4-2, which, unfortunately, was drained immediately as ROW stormed back and level the match at 4-4. Then in the ninth rack, it was Manas again rising the occasion by draining the No. 9 ball to close it out for Team Asia.
The evening was capped by Chua and Manas’ convincing 5-2 doubles triumph over Gorst and Shaw to keep their record unblemished in the four-day long cuefest.
“I’m so proud of Team Asia. We didn’t expect to be this dominant, but everyone’s playing with heart,” said Chua. “AJ’s been unbelievable, youngest on the team but leading like a veteran. People said he wasn’t ready; well, he’s proving them wrong.”
As Team Asia continuous to bedazzle, the competition gets going on Saturday, Oct. 18, where ROW must refigure right away if it wishes to live another day and mount an improbable come-from-behind victory.
