'Bata’ named RP billiards team playing coach

Former world 9-Ball champion Efren “Bata" Reyes has been elevated to the status of national playing coach for the RP billiards contingent starting with the coming Asian Games in November in Guangzhou, China. RP pool team head coach Boyet Asonto explained that as playing coach, Reyes will help in overseeing the Billiards and Snooker Council of the Philippines’ series of tryouts that will determine the members of the squad to the 16th edition of the Asiad.

Tryouts for the men’s 9-ball singles, 8-ball singles, carom cushion singles, and snooker singles, and the women’s 9-ball singles, 8-ball singles, snooker 6 red balls singles, and snooker 6 red balls team will be held as soon as the BSCP’s request for the reopening of the venue inside the Philippine Sports Medicine building is approved. Reyes, though, has been seeded to the RP men’s English billiards squad, along with Rey Grandea. “Meron nang sulat si Mr. Ilagan [BSCP president Bong Ilagan] kay chairman Angping [PSC chief Harry Angping] para magamit muli ang billiards center at pag na-aprubahan yun, pwede nang mag-conduct ng tryouts," Asonto said during Friday’s SCOOP sa Kamayan session. Reyes, for his part, stressed that no one will be seeded in the teams, both in the men’s and women’s sides, owing to the abundance of world-caliber players. “Halos lahat naman ng mga players natin ngayon, magagaling na kaya in fairness sa kanila, kailangang mag-tryout. Pati nga ako magta-tryout sa ibang event maliban sa English billiards," said the local pool legend who was guest at the forum along with national training pool members Iris Ranola and Mary Ann Basas. A total of seven slots will be at stake in the men’s squad and six in the women’s side. Reyes said both the men’s and women’s teams are capable of bringing home gold medals, although he offered that competitions in the women’s side will be tougher than the men’s play because of the presence of equally-talented campaigners from Korea, China, Taipei and Japan, among others. “Medyo mabigat ang laban ng mga babae natin, pero ang mga lalake, mas madali kasi Taipei lang ang dapat bantayan," Reyes, who will be flying to Japan next week for a three-week playing and teaching stints, assessed. - GMANews.TV