‘Bata’ Reyes settles for bronze for the 5th time in SEAG career

By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

For the fifth time in his Southeast Asian Games career, Efren “Bata” Reyes took home another bronze medal after receiving a beating from Vietnam’s star, Dinh Nai Ngo.

Tagged as Reyes’ last dance, his 100-14 drubbing loss in the one-cushion carom event against the Vietnamese did not put him down or discouraged him.

In his usual smirk after games, Reyes said that the result was very obvious and those who watched the game saw what happened, the Vietnamese star got the better of him and what he faced was one of the toughest opponents in the world right now.

Cruising through a 23-0 lead, Ngo hit successive shots that boosted his momentum while Reyes fumbled his first possession, giving another turn to the Vietnamese.

The first mistake Reyes committed enabled Ngo to unleash a scoring burst of his own, pulling-away with a 76-8 lead.

The loss left Reyes orchestrating and coaching the PH billiard players left vying for the coveted gold with promising players such as Carlo Biado and Jeffrey Ignacio.