---
title: "Reyes Cup 2026: Rest of the World Ends Asia's Reign in Manila"
url: https://sports23.net/reyes-cup-2026-rest-of-the-world-ends-asia-s-reign-in-manila
published: 2026-10-26T01:44:17Z
updated: 2026-10-26T01:44:17Z
summary: "Rest of the World beat Team Asia 11-4 at Makati Coliseum to win the Reyes Cup for the first time, ending two years of Asian dominance in Manila."
author: "Sports23 Editorial"
categories: ["Billiards"]
tags: ["AJ Manas", "Billiards", "Carlo Biado", "Philippines", "Pool", "Reyes Cup"]
lang: en
---

# Reyes Cup 2026: Rest of the World Ends Asia's Reign in Manila

*Francisco Sánchez Ruiz sank the cup-winning 9-ball and took MVP honors as Ralf Souquet's side swept the final day at Makati Coliseum.*

For two years, the Reyes Cup never left Asia. On Sunday night at the Makati Coliseum, it finally did.

Team Rest of the World won both of the final day's matches to complete an emphatic 11-4 victory over Team Asia, claiming the nine-ball team title for the first time and ending the hosts' reign in front of a Manila crowd that had grown used to celebrating. Francisco Sánchez Ruiz, who partnered Shane Van Boening in the deciding doubles and potted the cup-winning 9-ball himself, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

"It was so important to come into this week and win this title," Sánchez Ruiz said. "The past two years here haven't been great. I struggled a lot, so it means so much to win the MVP award. But I can't take the credit for this victory — we won this week because of every player on the team, and of course what Ralf has done to prepare us."

## A slow strangle, not a shootout

The 2026 Roobet Reyes Cup — the third edition of the team event named for Filipino icon Efren "Bata" Reyes — ran from October 15-18 at the Makati Coliseum in Makati. Asia, captained again by Francisco "Django" Bustamante, arrived as two-time defending champion after beating Europe 11-6 in the inaugural 2024 event and Rest of the World 11-3 last year.

This time the script flipped early. Day one ended 2-2 after Asia took the opening five-on-five match 5-3 and Carlo Biado and Robbie Capito routed Joshua Filler and Aleksa Pecelj 5-1 in the doubles — but the visitors answered with Sánchez Ruiz's singles win over Duong Quoc Hoang and a 5-1 doubles victory for Fedor Gorst and Van Boening over AJ Manas and Albert Januarta.

From there, Ralf Souquet's side never looked back. Rest of the World won day two 4-1 to lead 6-3, took day three 3-1 to move 9-4 up, then swept both of Sunday's matches to close it out. Biado was Asia's one consistent bright spot: his 5-3 singles win over Van Boening on day two and a 5-3 doubles win alongside Januarta on day three — sealed by the Indonesian's golden break — were nearly half of everything the home side managed all week.

## The deciding night

Needing two points on the final day, Rest of the World won the five-on-five team match 5-3 — Filler landing a 7-9 combination for the decisive rack — before Sánchez Ruiz and Van Boening beat Capito and Duong in the do-or-die doubles to trigger the celebrations.

Asia's defeat owed less to a collapse than to a rebuilt lineup running into a better-prepared opponent. Bustamante's five mixed its established names with a younger generation — Indonesia's Januarta, Hong Kong's Capito and Filipino teenager Manas alongside Biado and Vietnam's Duong — while Souquet had clearly drilled his team on the lessons of two straight defeats in Manila.

## Manila is still pool's capital

The cup leaves, but the city's grip on the sport loosened only briefly. Within days, Filipino players swept all four semifinal spots at the Philippines Open across town at Gateway Mall, where Johann Chua beat Anton Raga in an all-home final on Saturday night.

Asia will get its shot at redemption when the Reyes Cup returns next year. Whether Bustamante keeps faith with the same young core is now the interesting question.

![Efren "Bata" Reyes, the Filipino legend the team event is named for, in action](media:b38ca9c49fe0ea58)

*Cover photo: Efren Reyes at the World 9-Ball Pool Championship — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).*

*Sources: World Nineball Tour, ABS-CBN Sports, AzBilliards.*