Legends will descend upon Cambodia in a few days.
The legends are back at it for Team Pilipinas.
Efren “Bata” Reyes, universally known as one of the greatest ever to play pool, and Eugene Torre, one of the country’s preeminent chess players for the longest time, will once again represent the Philippines in the Southeast Asian Games as they are part of the Philippine delegation headed to Cambodia.
Reyes, of course, has won practically everything in the world of pool, notably the first-ever televised edition of the World Cup of Pool in 1999. The Magician has always answered the call of duty, particularly in the SEA Games, having competed in multiple editions already, including the last two—2019 and 2021 (held last year). This year, he is once again competing in the men's one-cushion carom event, where he and teammate Francisco Dela Cruz won bronze in the last two editions of the event.
The former nine-ball and eight-ball world champion has been raking in medals of colors in different events for decades now. Among Reyes’ most notable accomplishment are a gold medal in English Billiards (singles) in the 1987 Jakarta Games, a troika of gold medals (team, singles, and doubles) in Men’s Rotation in the 1991 Manila Games, and several bronze medals in one-cushion billiards.
The 71-year-old Torre, on the other hand, was the first-ever Filipino and Asian to earn the Grandmaster title. Since then, Torre has been representing the Philippines in various chess competitions, including the 2005 Manila Games, where he bagged bronze in Men’s Individual Rapid Chess. He also helped Team Philippines win silver in the Men’s Standard Team Event that same year.
In Phnom Penh, Torre will be competing in what is called ouk chaktrang (Khmer chess), which is said to be a close relative of chess, since traditional chess is not included in this year’s SEA Games.
Curiously, Reyes and Torre figure to be two of the oldest participants in Cambodia. But they are also two of only a few—legends of their respective sports who can still bring honor to the country.
It would be Cambodia's honor to host these two greats.
(GM)