Tuesday, November 04, 2008 The Magician out to break slump in Villar Cup
EFREN “Bata” Reyes hopes to break out from a long slumber and add another feather to his legendary cap as the world’s greatest cue artist of all time competes in the First Senate President Manny Villar Cup Bacolod Leg on Nov. 13 to 16 at the Garden Royal Function Hall of Goldenfields Commercial Complex in Bacolod City.
The 54-year-old pool legend has not won a title since ruling the Derby City Classic in Louisville, Kentucky in January 2007, though the charismatic maestro continues to be a major force to reckon with in every tournament he joins.
Reyes’ closest shot at winning a title this year was in the inaugural staging of the Villar Cup in May in Alabang, when he made it to the finals before losing to Warren Kiamco. He never got past the quarterfinals in succeeding legs of this island-hopping series presented by.
But in his bid to end his title drought, Reyes will have his hand even more full as he will not just take on an already formidable challenge from his fellow world-class countrymen and a bunch of rising Filipino stars, but also against a horde of topnotch foreign talents as this fifth edition of the Villar Cup was made an international event.
Eight foreigners, led by newly-crowned Guinness 9-Ball Tour Grand champion Ching-Shun Yang of Chinese-Taipei, will competed for the prestigious title and the $15,000 top purse at stake in this four-day tournament.
Asides from Yang, other international players vying in this event, supported by the Bacolod Global Entertainment Marketing Services Corporation, Bugsy Promotions and Puyat Sports, are former world champion Chia-Ching Wu, Hung-hsiang Wang and Jung-Lin Chang of Chinese-Taipei, China top-ranked player Jianbo Fu, veteran internationalist Marcus Chamat of Sweden and Christian Johannessen of the Netherlands.
Joining Reyes in leading the local surge are fellow former world titlists Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, along with reigning world No.1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Lee Van Corteza, and previous Villar Cup leg winners Kiamco (Alabang), Gandy Valle (Cebu), Ramil Gallego (Bulacan) and Roberto Gomez (Davao). (PR)
