Bata ekes out tough win to reach leg final

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Efren “Bata” Reyes had to dig deep into his bag of tricks to dodge the upset axe of Jomar de Ocampo and score a hard-earned 10-7 victory to reach the finals of The Manny Villar Cup Kadayawan leg yesterday at the jampacked activity area of NCCC Mall here.

The win advanced the 55-year-old Magician into a match against former leg winner Ramil Gallego for the coveted title and the P300,000 top prize at stake in this prestigious island-hopping series presented by Sen. Manny Villar’s Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports.

Gallego, the Villar Cup Bulacan leg titlist, subdued Cebu leg champion and top local bet Gandy Valle, 10-4, in the first semifinals match.

“Ang hirap talagang manalo dito sa Villar Cup, lahat kasi ng kasali magagaling at lalo ‘yung mga bata na kagaya ni Jomar na lalo pang gumagaling dahil sa tuluy-tuloy na pa-tournament ni Sen. Manny,” said Reyes, who also made it to the finals of the Camella Communities-sponsored series’ inaugural leg in May 2008 in StarMall in Alabang, where he lost to Warren Kiamco.

It was a tough win for Reyes as De Ocampo came out with his A-game and didn’t succumb to the pressure of playing against the man regarded as the best cue artist in the world and the huge Davaoeño crowd obviously rooting for the pool icon.

De Ocampo, a 20-year-old pride of Alaminos, Pangasinan, won the lag, but Reyes took the first two racks, before the latter evened the score at 2-2.

Reyes pocketed two straight frames to retake the lead, but De Ocampo kept himself within striking distance until the former utilized his vast experience to the hilt and held on.

“Hindi ako magugulat kung balang araw magiging champion din ‘yang batang ‘yan. Basta kailangan lang n’yang magsipag at tyaga,” said Reyes of De Ocampo, who made it to the Final Four by upending former leg winners Lee Van Corteza (9-5) and Francisco “Django” Bustamante (9-7) in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

Before beating De Ocampo, Reyes won over Carlo Biado (9-8) and Mike Takayama (9-3).

Gallego, meanwhile, made it to the semis after defeating former world champion Ronnie Alcano (9-6) and Kiamco (9-5), while Valle won against Rene Mar David (9-4) and two-time Villar Cup champion Roberto Gomez (9-6) before bowing out of contention in this three-day event co-organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) headed by Vic Rodriguez.

The finals match was slated to be played late yesterday, along with the awarding ceremonies to be led by Sen. Villar.