Ageless Bata Reyes, 56, still at it
Simple and humble Efren “Bata” Reyes, considered by his peers and legions of sports fans alike as the greatest billiards player on the planet, again lived up to expectations recently when he teamed up with the Philippines’ top lady player, Rubilen Amit, to easily defend their World Mixed Doubles championship in Hangzhou, China.
The Reyes-Amit tandem made mincemeat of the powerhouse United States’ combination of Johnny Archer and Jeanette Lee, 10-6, in a battle of former world champions to share the top prize of $15,000 (roughly P45,000).
Another PH pair, San Miguel Beer Oktoberfest 9-Ball Open titlist and Philippine Face-Off winner Lee Van Corteza, who defeated “Son of Pool” Yang Ching-shun of Chinese Taipei; and 26th Southeast Asian Games double-gold medalist Iris Rañola, also saw action, but the duo bowed out to a team from China.
Widely regarded as the 1-2 punch of the crack Puyat Sports stable, Reyes and Amit topped the inaugural tournament in 2009 in Quezon City, beating Korea’s Charlie Williams and Eun Ji Park and pocketing the $6,000 winners’ paycheck.
Not only that, other Puyat Sports mainstays have also hogged the spotlight, with flamboyant Francisco “Django” Bustamante outclassing England’s Daryl Peach, 9-8, in the “Face-Off Series;” and Rañola, scoring well-deserved victories in the “Face-Off” and the 26th SEAG, respectively.
But unbeknownst to many, Reyes almost did not make it to the United States in 1995 or some 16 years ago all because a Manila-based US embassy staffer denied Bata’s application for a visa to be able to leave and compete in a major pool meet in Reno, Nevada.
The embassy staffer obviously had not heard that Reyes is a sports hero in the Philippines who has been regularly travelling to the US and competing in the American Circuit for the past several years.
But with the help of the Puyat brothers—Jose “Popit” and Aristeo “Putch”—Bata’s longtime benefactors and several concerned friends, Bata was issued a US visa although a bit late. Because of this, the Filipino pool legend had to leave in a hurry.
Bucking the visa hassle in Manila and overcoming jet lag in flying to Reno, Reyes still managed to eke out a dramatic victory, winning the 1995 Sands Regency 9-Ball Open over perennial rival and many-time world champion Earl Strickland, 13-12, in the race-to-13 final. It was the third triumph for the fabled Filipino cue artist, having won the Sands Regency Open in back-to-back fashion in 1985-86.
The immensely talented Reyes, whose pool achievements included stirring wins in the 1994 US Open and 1999 World 9-Ball Championship in Cardiff, Wales, gave new meaning and dimension to billiards, a sport previously associated with truants, gamblers and hustlers.
With his partnership with Amit this year in the World Mixed Doubles tournament, the soft-spoken Reyes could only say: “We hope we made the country proud of us again. We offer this victory to our countrymen.”
On the other hand, Amit said it was an inspiring comeback since failing to defend her two SEAG gold medals in the Indonesia meet and getting the boot early in the last World Women’s 10-Ball Championship where she emerged winner during the inaugural staging of the star-studded tourney in 2009.
Reyes and Amit crashed this year’s World Mixed Doubles finals by nipping hosts Li Hewen and Chen Siming, 9-8, in the semifinals.
The meet also featured several other world-class teams, including Mika Immonen-Marika Poikkijoki of Finland; Tommy Donlon-Kelly Fisher (United Kingdom); Chao Fong-pang-Tsai Pei-chan (Chinese Taipei); and hometown bets Liu Haitao-Fu Xiaofang (China).
