Reports of Efren Reyes' Southeast Asian Games retirement appear to be greatly exaggerated.
Philippine pool's living legend - and one of the greatest pool players in the sport's history - settled for another bronze in the 1-cushion carom after losing to eventual gold medalist Dinh Nai Ngo of Vietnam in their semifinal match on Friday. It was a testament to Reyes' stature that Dinh requested to have his picture taken with "Bata" after their match.
There was speculation that this 30th SEA Games might be the last for the 65-year-old, who has been playing professionally for over 40 years and by his own admission has seen his skills erode in recent years. But the man himself clarified that he still wants to represent the Philippines in the biennial meet.
"Hindi ko sinabi na ito ang huling SEA Games ko," Reyes said after the medal ceremony, where he and compatriot Francisco Dela Cruz were awarded their bronze medals. "Hindi natin alam, baka puede pa. Baka maglaro pa ulit."
("I never said this is my last SEA Games. We never know, I might still make it. I could still play.")
The bronze is the fourth in the SEA Games for the Magician in 1-cushion carom, and although he wasn't happy with the result, he tipped his hat to Dinh.
"Siyempre hindi maganda dahil talo," he replied when asked about his performance. "Bronze lang. Pero itong kalaban ko, magaling. Ito ang world champion sa larong 3-cushion. Kaya medyo mabigat. Pero iyong tira niya kaya ko, kaya lang hindi na ngayon. Dati, tingin ko kaya ko siya."
(Of course I wasn't happy because I lost. I only got the bronze. But my opponent is very good. He's the world champion in 3-cushion. That's why it was difficult. But I could take his shots. I could have beaten him in the past.)
One person who thinks Reyes will definitely be back for the 2021 SEAG, which will be held in Hanoi, is good friend and fellow pool legend Francisco "Django" Bustamante, who serves as the national team coach.
Bustamante, who knows Reyes perhaps better than anyone in the sport, has a simple reason for believing we haven't seen the last of Bata in the SEAG: the country doesn't have enough carom players.
"Maglalaro pa rin si pareng Efren," said Bustamante. "Wala lang tayong player sa karambola. Tatatlo lang sila. So obligado maglaro iyong dalawa. Iyong isa coach naman. Wala naman mga batang naglalaro ng karambola kundi sila lang. Wala tayong choice doon.
(Efren will still play. We don't have enough players in carom. There are only three of them. Two are obligated to play. The other is a coach. Youngsters aren't playing carom, so we don't have a choice.)
While the Philippines has never been considered a force in the carom events, the country's cue artists have also encountered stiff competition in their traditional strongholds of 9 ball and 10 ball. As of posting time, the Philippines has collected two golds, three silvers and four bronzes. Both golds came from Rubliln Amit in women's 9 ball singles and Chezka Centeno in women's 10 ball singles. Dennis Orcollo has a chance to add to that when he plays in the men's 10 ball singles final late Monday.
But Orcollo and Warren Kiamco were both eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 9 ball singles, while both men's pairs got the boot in the semifinals of 10 ball doubles.
Bustamante acknowledges that the rest of the region is slowly catching up.
"Magagaling na sila," he admitted. "Dati iyong Singapore, talunan lang naming iyan. Ngayon gumaling na sila. May bata silang magaling ngayon, iyong tumalo sa doubles (Aloysius Yapp). Hindi sumasablay. Siyempre natututo na rin sila.
(They've improved. Before Singapore didn't stand a chance against us. Now they're really good. They have a young player, who beat our doubles team. He doesn't miss. Of course, they're learning.)