Team ROW Fire Back To Level After Thrilling Opening Day

Team Rest of the World recovered from a 2–0 deficit to draw level with defending champions Team Asia at 2–2 after the opening day of the 2026 Roobet Reyes Cup, as Francisco Sánchez Ruiz and the Mosconi Cup pairing of Fedor Gorst and Shane Van Boening swung the momentum at the Makati Coliseum.

Returning to Manila for its third edition, the 2026 Roobet Reyes Cup runs at the Makati Coliseum from October 15–18, as Team Asia defend their crown against Team Rest of the World in an event staged in partnership with Puyat Sports and broadcast globally via ESPN, ONE SPORTS and WNT TV.

Day One result
Team Asia 2 – 2 Team Rest of the World

Match One
Team Asia 5 – 3 Team ROW

Captain Francisco “Django” Bustamante won the lag for Team Asia, and Duong Quoc Hoang made it count with a break-and-run in the opening rack. Joshua Filler levelled in the second after coming through a safety exchange with 17-year-old Indonesian Albert Januarta, before a dramatic missed 9-ball from Carlo Biado let Shane Van Boening put Team ROW 2–1 in front.

A self-inflicted hook on the 8-ball from Fedor Gorst gave Robbie Capito the chance to tie it at 2–2. A dry break from AJ Manas looked set to hand the lead back to Team ROW, but a missed 7-ball from Aleksa Pecelj let Manas back to the table to put Asia in control.

Sánchez Ruiz responded to make it 3–3, before a golden break from Januarta moved Team Asia onto the hill. Biado and Van Boening then traded back-to-back misses in the decisive rack, and Biado rode a fortunate roll to close out the opening point for Asia.

Match Two
Carlo Biado & Robbie Capito 5 – 1 Joshua Filler & Aleksa Pecelj

Biado and Capito took the first rack after a failed jump shot from Pecelj, then broke and ran the next to lead 2–0. Filler and Pecelj narrowed the gap, but a second break-and-run from the Filipino duo restored their two-rack cushion at 3–1.

The misfortune continued for Team ROW, with a failed safety from Filler in the fifth rack and a crucial missed 8-ball from Pecelj in the sixth handing Team Asia a second point.

Capito commented: “People said we were the underdogs coming into this tournament. We’ll still have to keep fighting, but they’ll have to bring their best game if they want to win. I’m lucky to have Carlo by my side, along with Django as captain. Both have proven themselves on this stage, so they know what it takes to win.”

Match Three
Francisco Sánchez Ruiz 5 – 1 Duong Quoc Hoang

Sánchez Ruiz took the first rack after a missed 5-ball from the Vietnamese star, who quickly levelled in the second. The Spaniard then broke and ran the third to regain the lead.

A dry break from Duong in the fourth sparked a safety exchange, and the Vietnamese cueist produced an exceptional kick to pocket the 3-ball, leaving what looked a straightforward route to 2–2. A missed 9-ball, however, allowed Sánchez Ruiz to move 3–1 ahead. He wasted no time reaching the hill and sealed the match after Duong was left hooked off his own break, putting Team ROW’s first point on the board.

Sánchez Ruiz said: “That was an important win, a needed win. Duong is a solid player, so I knew it would be tough. But that win puts the pressure on Team Asia. The team and I are prepared and ready to play our best, and we’re going to show that this week.”

Match Four
Shane Van Boening & Fedor Gorst 5 – 1 AJ Manas & Albert Januarta

The American duo took control of the first rack after an unfortunate missed 6-ball from Manas, and another miss from last year’s MVP handed them the second for a two-rack lead.

A clean break-and-run made it 3–0, and a dramatic scratch on the 8-ball from Manas sent Gorst and Van Boening to the hill. A failed bank from Van Boening let Manas and Januarta in to get on the scoreboard, but another error from Manas, a missed bank on the 2-ball, allowed the Americans to close out the match and level the overall score at 2–2.

Gorst commented: “I think experience played a big part. We won all the tight racks, and that’s what the match came down to. They’re young, and Shane and I have a lot of experience from the Mosconi Cup. It was a big win, and we played smart.”

With the scores level after a day of momentum swings, all eyes turn to Day Two as Asia chase a third straight title and Rest of the World seek their breakthrough.

Join us at Makati Coliseum from 15–18 October as Asia chase a third straight title and Rest of the World seek their breakthrough.