By JONAS TERRADO
Efren “Bata” Reyes’ campaign in the 31st Southeast Asian Games came to an end Thursday after suffering a quarterfinal loss in the men’s 3-carom event.
The 67-pool legend was beaten by Vietnam’s Quyet Chien Tran, 40-10, at the Ha Dong Gymnasium in Hanoi.
Reyes trailed 12-0 at the start as the hometown bet showed why Vietnam is known to flourish in cushion events as Quyet easily progressed to the semifinals.
Fans showed great appreciation to Reyes, who a few days ago settled for bronze in men’s 1-carom. One big fan even carried a laminated picture of him while others gleefully posed selfies.
His popularity has even reached Vietnam as witnessed after his win over Thailand’s Suriya Suwanasingh in the men’s 1-carom quarters when fans mobbed Reyes outside of the venue.
Fellow carom player Francisco dela Cruz was also eliminated in the quarters by Vietnam’s Duc Anh Chien Nguyen.
Meanwhile, Rubilen Amit is assured of at least a bronze in women’s 10-ball singles following her 7-0 win over Malaysia’s Suhana Sabtu.
Amit is coming off a gold medal triumph in women’s 9-ball singles.
Jefrey Roda suffered an early exit in men’s snooker singles with a 4-2 defeat to Myanmar’s Aung Phyo.
Roda was coming off a silver medal finish in the men’s 6-red singles.
