'Bata' still top Pinoy in AZBilliards list, two others in top 10

He may not be as rich as his compatriots in terms of winnings this year but Efren "Bata" Reyes has proven that he is still king Pinoy cue master as far as AZBilliards.com rankings are concerned.

Reyes, also dubbed as "The Magician", remained in sixth place in the weekly standings that saw Shane Van Boening jumping a notch at number one. Reyes has so far earned $5,500 in international tournaments, with the last one being the Qatar International Open in July.

Bustamante, meanwhile, trailed Reyes closely at seventh, dropping three notches from last week's rankings. His last tournament was the US 9-Ball Championships in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he finished ninth earlier this month.

Orcollo, on the other hand, shed four places to finish the week at No. 9. He landed third in the US 9-Ball Open after finishing first in the Guangzhou, China leg of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour in September.

In terms of earnings, Orcollo came first with $91,400, so far, followed by Francisco Bustamante with  $80,903.

Another Filipino champ, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan, fell short of a slot as he landed 11th for the week. He has so far earned $61,203.

Jose "Amang" Parica, meanwhile, jumped 12 steps after last week's 51st placing. His 2008 winnings are now pegged at $20,190, with the latest addition coming from the US Open 9-Ball where he shared ninth place with Bustamante.

Ronnie "The Volcano" Alcano, on the other hand, was at the bottom of the 50-man list as he dropped 21 places from last week's 29th spot. He now has $41,200 in winnings after adding $20,000 as first runner-up prize in the US 9-Ball Open.

'Bata' still top Pinoy in AZBilliards list, two others in top 10

He may not be as rich as his compatriots in terms of winnings this year but Efren "Bata" Reyes has proven that he is still king Pinoy cue master as far as AZBilliards.com rankings are concerned.

Reyes, also dubbed as "The Magician", remained in sixth place in the weekly standings that saw Shane Van Boening jumping a notch at number one. Reyes has so far earned $5,500 in international tournaments, with the last one being the Qatar International Open in July.

Bustamante, meanwhile, trailed Reyes closely at seventh, dropping three notches from last week's rankings. His last tournament was the US 9-Ball Championships in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he finished ninth earlier this month.

Orcollo, on the other hand, shed four places to finish the week at No. 9. He landed third in the US 9-Ball Open after finishing first in the Guangzhou, China leg of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour in September.

In terms of earnings, Orcollo came first with $91,400, so far, followed by Francisco Bustamante with $80,903.

Another Filipino champ, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan, fell short of a slot as he landed 11th for the week. He has so far earned $61,203.

Jose "Amang" Parica, meanwhile, jumped 12 steps after last week's 51st placing. His 2008 winnings are now pegged at $20,190, with the latest addition coming from the US Open 9-Ball where he shared ninth place with Bustamante.

Ronnie "The Volcano" Alcano, on the other hand, was at the bottom of the 50-man list as he dropped 21 places from last week's 29th spot. He now has $41,200 in winnings after adding $20,000 as first runner-up prize in the US 9-Ball Open.

RP is making waves in world billiards

Filipino cue artists once again proved that you win in billiards not only through inborn grace and intelligence, but most of all through experience.

Former double world champion Ronnie Alcano, lead player of Bugsy Promotions, and battle-scarred Warren Kiamco made the Final Four against former world champions Mika Immonen of Finland and Johnny Archer of the United States, respectively, in the star-studded 33rd US Open 9-Ball Championship in Chesapeake, Virginia. (This piece was submitted before the event’s final two stages—Ed)

Whether or not they win the US Open title and the champion’s paycheck of $40,000, the Filipino pair will make history. The mere fact that they stormed into the magic four shows that Filipinos can hold their own even against the world’s best and toughest pros.

Over in Jakarta, world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo, also of Bugsy Promotions, and 2004 World Pool 9-Ball champion Alex Pagulayan of Puyat Sports, likewise landed in the elite four in this year’s Guinness Tour Grand Finals, the culmination of the Asian Tour.

All four players—Alcano, Kiamco, Orcollo and Pagulayan—are mainstays of the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines, a group of professionals whose main objective is to promote the game of pool nationwide and to look after the well-being of its members.

In my view, local billiards is already the real winner here. The mere fact that the country’s present crop of veteran cue artists is now a force to reckon with in the international pool scene speaks well of the people running the sport.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Americans were the most dominant billiards players in the world. Among their top pool pros were Nick Varner, Mike Lebron, Jimmy Rempe, Jay Helfert, Kim Davenport, Buddy Hall and, much later in the 1990s and 2000s, Earl Strickland, Johnny Archer, Corey Deuel, Rodney Morris and Shane Van Boening.

In the 1980s, Filipino players entered the picture. Ageless Jose “Amang” Parica, now United States-based, led the Philippine invasion of the American circuit in mid-1984.

Humble and simple Efren “Bata” Reyes, playing under the name of Cesar Morales, started to build a reputation that would make him the most dangerous and finest player on the planet.

In 1985, Reyes, then 29, won his first US title—the Red’s 9-Ball Open in Houston, Texas. He earned the moniker “The Magician” because of his smooth motion and subtle touch.

In 1994, Reyes captured the US Open to become the first non-American to win the crown. A native of Pampanga, Reyes capped his achievements by winning the World Pool Championship in Cardiff, Wales, in 1999 at age 45. Reyes, who is now 54, skipped the 2008 US Open due to health reasons.

Many-time world champion Strickland, the flamboyant American cue artist who is also Reyes’ bitterest rival, said: “In my book, Reyes is the greatest player in the world. What else can you say? He plays you and he beats you.”