A 15 year-old boy from Antipolo had the best experience of his life so far after he competed with billiard icon Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes in the MassKara Billiards Tournament on Wednesday.
The two faced each other in the semifinals of the 10-ball race and the kid named Aj Manas managed to defeat ‘The Magician’ with a score of 8-5.
Manas told GMA News that he felt pressured during his game with Reyes.
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“S’yempre po ang dami pong nanonood, sobrang dami niya pong fans,” he said.
The billiard icon on the other hand was all praise to the young player.
“Panalo ‘yung pocketing niya. ‘Yung panghulog ng bata, ang galing. Mayroon na rin siyang mga position,” he said.
“Ang tira ko naman ngayon, pawala na eh. ‘Yung mga tinitira niyang pahulog, ako hindi ko na kaya ‘yun eh. Magaling kahit malayo,” Reyes added.
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Reyes also invited Manas to train in his center.
“Puwede siyang mag-training dun para mag-ano siya dun, makasama sa team namin,” he said.
Manas is grateful for the opportunity to play with Reyes.
“Nagpapasalamat dahil nakalaro ko po siya sa tournament na ‘to at sana po maturuan niya po ako ng mga tira na hindi ko pa po alam. Nagpapasalamat po ako sa inyo dahil may mga kabataan pong gumagaya po sa inyo dahil sa mga nakuha n’yong achievements sa iba’t ibang bansa sa larangan ng billiards,” Manas added.
