Pinoy pool sharks pocket 'em all

MANILA, Philippines - In 1995, Efren “Bata” Reyes bagged the first of his three PBT World 8-ball crowns and, just recently, Dennis Orcollo reigned supreme in the 2011 WPA 8-ball championship.

In between, several other Filipino pool masters made a piece of history on the world stage, making the Philippines the undisputed kingpin of this game on the green-felt table.

Name any world pool title, and for sure Filipino cue masters had stamped their mark on it.

Renato Alcano, Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Alex Pagulayan were among the giants of the game, each one taking his turn to rule the prestigious world 9-ball championship.

Alcano became a double world champion in annexing the 9-ball crown in 2006, and in a final show of versatility, won the 8-ball diadem the following year.

After a near miss in 2002 and a wait of nearly a decade, Bustamante ruled the world 9-ball championship last year – the last jewel in a treasured collection that includes two world pool masters (1998 and 2001) and two World Cup of Pool championships with Reyes.

Pagulayan was invincible in the world 9-ball in 2004 and came back four years later to outclass the finest from all corners of the world to win the World Pool Masters.

Pinoy cue artists have endeared themselves to every Filipino with their   consistent medal conquests in the Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Games.

Gandy Valle and Romeo Villanueva bagged the 9-ball doubles in the 1998 Bangkok Asiad; Bustamante and Nikoy Lining topped the same event in 2002 in Busan; Antonio Gabica gained top podium honors in 9-ball singles in the 2006 Doha Games and Orcollo duplicated Gabica’s feat in Guanzhou, China last year.

Reyes, however, is easily the country’s, if not the world’s, most high-profile, most decorated and most beloved pool player.

His achievements are recognized the world over as evidenced by his enshrinement to the Billiard Congress of America’s Hall of Fame in 2003. Later, he also became an inductee to the One Pocket Hall of Fame.

At home, he’s recipient of a Philippine Legion of Honor, Philippine Order of Lakandula and citations as PSA Athlete of the Year in 1999, 2001 and 2006.

With his pool wizardry and charisma, Reyes was the country’s Manny Pacquiao before the boxing icon came along.