Age Catching up with Pool King Efren Reyes
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Sports FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015 Age catching up with pool king Efren Reyes SINGAPORE: Few sportspeople have per- Reyes shuffled out of Singapore’s SEA Money games fected their craft like Efren Reyes, but the Games in the semi-finals of one-cushion car- Afterwards Reyes, wearing a crumpled, dark one-time king of pool admits age is catching om, an obscure, delicate game in which the blue waistcoat and a resigned expression, rued up with him as he finally yields to younger Philippines has few players. the mistake which consigned him to his third talent. Two competitors must use their cue-ball SEA Games bronze in the little-known sport. The 60-year-old Filipino says neck pain, to hit the only two other balls on a pocketless “I missed an easy shot, if I hadn’t missed his eyes and even the strength of his arms table, scoring one point for each successful that maybe I would have won that game,” he can betray him in long matches, and he is shot. The winner is the first to 100. said. weary after losing to wave after wave of hot- Reyes’ vision and shot-making came to His chief role in the multi-sport SEA Games SINGAPORE: Joshua Tay of Singapore competes in the shots. the fore as he clawed back from 80-56 down was as practice partner for Filipino pool players, men’s wakeboard semifinal at the SEA Games in “That’s a long time ago,” he said at the to level at 84-all, before a lapse in concentra- he says, much like his usual routine in his home Singapore, yesterday. —AP Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, when reminded tion allowed his opponent back to the table. country. Reyes, who has shifted out of the cap- of his heyday when he hoarded world titles and And Vietnam’s Ma Minh Cam, wearing a ital Manila back to his home province of was widely regarded as the globe’s finest play- distinctive blue glove on his bridge hand to Pampanga, is regularly invited to “money Young Filipinos er. “At this time there’s a lot of good players ease friction, seized victory with a 16 break games” where players and gamblers will bet from the Philippines. Everybody can beat me.” on his next visit. cash. It’s very much back to his roots in the box clever to sport, where he played in his uncle’s “Lucky 13” pool hall from the age of eight, rising from money games to tournaments to hustling in emulate Pacquiao the United States. SINGAPORE: Ed Picson can justifiably feel proud of his work Finally he reached pool’s nascent world at the Southeast Asian Games this week after the executive stage, where his battles with Earl “The Pearl” director of the Philippines amateur boxing board witnessed Strickland and others were broadcast around his 10-strong team of fighters all take home medals from the globe, becoming minor classics. “We Singapore. always are playing pool every day. We play Tasked with finding the archipelago’s generation next, money games of pool, that’s our practice,” he Picson was brimming with pride as his country’s boxers cut a said. “In the Philippines, good players always swathe through the region’s best pugilists to top the medal call me to play them. Every province, not only table with five golds, three silvers and two bronzes. Manila. Everywhere in the Philippines. Even the “I am very happy with our performance this week,” a beam- young up-and-coming players. ing Picson told Reuters in the shadow of the Expo Hall grand- “If I come, they pay me and they make extra stand where his nation’s fans cheered on their favourite fight- on betting. For me, I don’t bet but other people ers. “We brought 10 boxers here, mandated by the rules, that bet on me.” is six men and four women. Eight of them reached finals and ‘It’s a lot of pressure’ the two that didn’t will go home with bronze medals, so we Every day, he practises in pool halls, at quiet couldn’t ask for more. times when nobody else is on the tables-usual- “The SEA Games is very crucial when you experience the ly mornings and evenings-and often in short groundswell of support for athletes in this regional competi- bursts. “Sometimes it’s only 30 minutes, and tion and it gives you a sense of being on the international then I stop and play later. I cannot play longer stage,” he added. because it makes me tired,” Reyes said. He says “It’s very important for them to be exposed ... to be in such he has trouble in nine-ball games in the competitions with a high profile so that when we are in the Philippines, which are traditionally a race to 21 bigger tournaments ahead they won’t feel so anxious.” racks, putting the onus on stamina. “It’s still The name Manny Pacquiao is synonymous with boxing in okay, I still can play longer like that. But my the Philippines, the eight-weight division world champion eyes sometimes are no good, sometimes it having shaped the landscape of the sport in the country for hurts to stand,” he said. “My neck hurts almost two decades. because I cannot move too good. And even my Picson believes it is a positive influence. “Manny Pacquiao arms, I cannot hold the cue any more very inspires everybody in the Philippines, especially boxers,” he good.” He says the pressure is always on him said. “He’s a member of our board, by the way, a director of when he plays, given his collection of more the ABAP. He’s very supportive, he talks about the boxers and than 70 international titles, and he is often chal- talks to them whenever there’s an opportunity and obviously lenged to a game. “Everybody likes to play the boys and girls look up to him. challenge games against me. Everywhere they “They are very proud that when we are in far flung coun- want to play because they want to beat me,” tries like Uzbekistan or Mongolia and when they see us wear- he said. “It’s a lot of pressure for me. Other ing Philippine jackets or shirts, invariably they address us as players like to play and I don’t think they have ‘Pacquiao’. that pressure.” But even though his glories are “Yes, they are big shoes to fill but we’re proud of the asso- MANILA: Efren Reyes of the Philippines sets up a shot during his third firmly in the past, Reyes, who was next heading ciation and we would like to be able to show him that he has to the United States for a tournament there, inspired our boxers.” day match against Roy Apancho of Indonesia during the World Pool says he has to keep playing. Championship being held in the Philippine capital Manila. Few sports- “This is my job, playing pool. I make money people have perfected their craft like Efren Reyes, but the one-time king Creating names through my sport,” he said, before walking to One such boxer inspired by Pacquiao was welterweight of pool admits age is catching up with him as he finally yields to younger the stadium exit with his cue bag over his gold medalist Eumir Felix Marcial, a junior world champion talent. —AFP shoulder. —AFP from 2011, who claimed a knockout victory with a devastating left hook to the jaw of Singapore’s Jie Wei Tay in their bout. The 19-year-old looks every inch a world class boxer in the Philippines probe as ‘Splash Brothers’ go viral making, his excellent ringcraft, balanced footwork, devastat- SINGAPORE: A pair of Filipinos have created a splash in more “I will give the opportunity for the Philippine Swimming ing power and southpaw stance ensuring he emulates his ways than one after footage of their botched dives at the SEA Inc. president to explain because he fought for these divers to “idol” in more ways than simply their shared nationality. Games caused such a stir that authorities demanded answers. come here and compete,” Garcia said, according to “We are hoping our fighters can step up and create names Footage of John Elmerson Fabriga and John David Pahoyo has Inquirer.net. “I saw these boys train at Rizal Memorial and they for themselves in the international arena. This group we have gone viral after both athletes, on their fourth dive in the men’s are good.” Garcia also wondered whether the dives were is a very potent one,” Picson added. 3m springboard, landed nearly horizontal, scoring zero points. intentionally bad, according to the report. Fabriga and “Our average age is 23 and that includes three who are 28 Reaction has been mixed to the duo dubbed the “Splash Pahoyo, who finished about 100 points adrift of their competi- or 29. But it is the young ones we are banking on to make a Brothers”, with some Internet users poking fun and others call- tors, are not the only divers to underwhelm at the Southeast splash on the international scene. We are very optimistic and ing for restraint. But their performance has made waves with Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore. Marcial is one of those we expect a lot from.” Philippine Sport Commission chairman Richie Garcia, who is Some competitors in the women’s 10m platform chose to Picson remains confident boxing in his homeland can with- reportedly seeking an explanation from aquatics chief Mark dive from 7.5m or even 5m, and many also landed awkwardly, stand the rising popularity of mixed martial arts, believing Joseph.