POOL legend Efren 'Bata' Reyes was feted on his 71st birthday with the launch of his autobiography and a state-of-the-heart pool club as well as a tournament named in his honor that offers a guaranteed P2 million in pot money.
The former world 9-ball champion's birthday celebration was held on Tuesday night at the Pacman Cue Club, a brand-new facility in Mandaluyong billed as the 'Home of Champions' with 18 tables, one TV table and a players' lounge.
The club will be open for 24 hours seven days a week, officials said, to give pool players a 'real home.'
There, the book 'The Magician,' written by pool player and Pacman Cue Club COO Marlon Manalo, was launched and the first 500 copies have been sold out. Manalo said plans are afoot for the printing of 1,000 more copies, sold at P1,699 per.
Proceeds from the sale of the book and other merchandise sold at the Pacman Cue Club will go to a fund for senior and current pool players, Manalo said.
“Kung sa basketball pinagdedebatihan nila kung sino GoAT - Lebron o Jordan o Kobe - saka sa football [kung si] Ronaldo, Messi, Maradona o Pele, sa billiards undisputed, si Efren lang talaga 'yan,” said Manalo.
The club also hosted the first Efren Bata Reyes 10-ball Open Championship, which will run from Wednesday to Saturday. It has lured 160 players at posting time including some of the biggest names in Philippine billiards,
Among the guests in the grand opening were Reyes' longtime pal and fellow world champion Django Bustamante, Jeffrey de Luna, Ronnie Alcano, and Rubilen Amit.
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