At 71, Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes intends to stay in beloved pool game

MANILA, Philippines – Expect Efren “Bata” Reyes to play pool until the wheels fall off.

Although already 71 years old, the “Magician” wants to compete for as long as he can after taking part in the WNT Legends exhibition tournament that brought him and fellow pool icons Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Earl Strickland, and Ralf Souquet together.

Reyes is the oldest in the bunch, with Souquet being the youngest at 57, followed by Bustamante, 62, and Strickland, 64.

“While I still can, I’ll keep playing,” said Reyes.

Father Time, though, has caught up with Reyes as he fell to Souquet, 11-9, in the battle for third on Friday, January 23.

Reyes fell behind 4-7 but showed why he is regarded as the greatest to play the sport.

Even if the shots he normally made during his heyday did not fall, Reyes quickly seized two racks, pocketing 1-9 and 2-9 combinations to cut his deficit.

He then tied the game at 9-9 after completing another 1-9 combo in the 18th game as viewers waxed nostalgic about Reyes’ comeback wins in the past.

But as magical as he was, Reyes failed to pull level on the hill after committing a foul at the five ball, allowing Souquet to run out the table for the victory.

“I was not getting any luck here. All of my opponents were playing better, and the ball kept favoring them,” said Reyes, who ended the tournament with a 1-2 record after beating Souquet on Day 1 and losing to Strickland on Day 2.

Still, Reyes was the star of the show as legions of fans ran up to him for a chance to get his autograph and take a selfie with him.

“I want to thank my followers for continuing to support me. They prayed hard that I’d win, but there really is nothing more I can do,” said Reyes.

Even Souquet knows that he came out victorious against the best.

“No question, Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes, [is] the greatest of all time,” said Souquet. “To me, it’s not even a question — never was, never is, and never will be.” – Rappler.com