Rest of the World Ends Asia's Reign With an 11-4 Reyes Cup Rout
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz sank the title-winning 9-ball and took MVP honors as Team Rest of the World finally broke through in Manila.
Team Asia's two-year hold on the Reyes Cup is over. Team Rest of the World won the trophy for the first time on Sunday night, closing out an emphatic 11-4 victory at Makati Coliseum in Manila.
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz was the story of the week. The Spaniard partnered Shane Van Boening to beat Robbie Capito and Duong Quoc Hoang 5-1 in the deciding doubles match, potted the final 9-ball himself and was named tournament MVP.
How it turned
The first two days offered little sign of a rout. The teams split Day 1 at 2-2, with Carlo Biado and Capito dominating Joshua Filler and Aleksa Pecelj in doubles for Asia's second point.
Rest of the World took control on Day 2, winning three straight to lead 5-2 before Biado stopped the slide with a singles win over Van Boening. Filler and Sanchez Ruiz then edged a hill-hill doubles to close the day 6-3 ahead.
Day 3 stretched the lead to 9-4, Asia's lone point coming from Biado and Albert Januarta's 5-3 doubles win capped by a Januarta golden break.
The final day
Sanchez Ruiz put ROW on the hill by beating Capito in singles, then returned with Van Boening to finish the job. Capito and Duong stole the opening rack, but Van Boening's safety work turned the match and a break-and-run put ROW one shot from the cup. Sanchez Ruiz cleaned up the 9-ball to end Asia's reign after two years of defeat in Manila for the visitors.
Ralf Souquet captained ROW for the first time; Francisco 'Django' Bustamante led Asia in front of a partisan home crowd.
Sources: World Nineball Tour event recap, ABS-CBN Sports, Spin.ph.