EFREN ‘Bata’ Reyes struggled flipping and reading the pages of his speech at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Awards on Friday night at The Manila Hotel, no thanks to his eyesight and his advanced age.
But when the legend in Philippine sports talked, everybody listened.
The 65-year-old Reyes was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the sports scribes group for his contributions to Philippine sports.
Even with the award that is sometimes given to retired athletes, Reyes said he has no plans to step down from the sport as long as his country still needs him. At the same time though, Reyes said he still wants to be around in order to help the next generation of athletes.
“Maraming nagtatanong lalo na ang mga sportswriters. Mawawala na ba si ‘Bata’ sa eksena? Hindi ko ito masagot. Gusto ko pong makatulong sa mga batang nais maglaro ng pool at ibang disiplina ng billiard sport.
“Marami ngayong mga bata ang naglalaro na magagaling pero kailangan gabayan pa para makaani ng tagumpay para sa ating bansa. Bilang head coach ng national training pool at deputy coach ng aking kumpare na si Francisco ‘Django’ Bustamante, nakalaan po ang aming serbisyo para sa bansa natin,” said Reyes.

Reyes said he is also committed to play for the national team only if it is necessary.
“Maglalaro pa ba ako? Basta kailangan pa ako ng ating bansa, nandito pa rin si ‘Bata’ pero matanda na ngayon,” said Reyes, who was presented with the award by SPIN.ph editor in chief Eduardo ‘Dodo’ Catacutan and Philippine Star sports editor Nelson Beltran.
Reyes said he plans to continue competing particularly in carom, the same event where he competed in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, but he doesn’t expect to win medals.
“Nag-umpisa akong maglaro sa carom o sa karambola para makatakada ng 100 points. Pero sa panaginip na lang ito,” said Reyes.
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