MANILA, Philippines — Efren "Bata" Reyes ended his quest for a elusive Southeast Asian Games gold medal after bowing to Vietnamese Dinh Nai Ngo, 14-100, in the cushion carom semifinals on Friday.
Although the atmosphere at the Manila Hotel Tent was tense throughout the game, it was neutralized out by a lighthearted moment as the Vietnamese champion asked for a "selfie" with the Filipino pool legend.
While Reyes fell, Filipino duo Alvin Barbero and Jefrey Roda settled for silver after losing to Malaysians Keen Hoo Moh and Leong Lim Kok during the Men's Snooker Doubles Finals, 1-3.
Dennis Orcollo, who was playing in the men's 10-ball pool singles quarterfinals against Vietnamese Quoc Hoang Duong, looked in danger after his opponent won four racks in a row.
But Orcollo was not to be deterred as he quickly took eight consecutive racks to fashion out a 9-5 win and move on to the semifinals.
While the men's team seemed to be having its ups and downs, Philippine bets Rubilen Amit and Chezka Centeno had a smooth bid as they won all their matches in both 9- and 10-ball pool women's singles matches.
Centeno blanked her Indonesian opponent in the 9-ball quarters, 7-0, while Amit downed her foe, 7-3. Both Filipinas are through to the finals.
In the 10-ball singles, Centeno and Amit both racked up wins, defeating their Malaysian opponents, 7-4 and 7-2, respectively. They will face each other in the semis on Saturday.