Efren “Bata” Reyes ended up with another bronze medal in the men’s 1-carom event of the 31st Southeast Asian Games after suffering a 100-55 loss Wednesday, May 18 to Vietnam’s Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu in the semifinals.
Reyes simply couldn’t outsmart his younger rival, who cruised to an early 30-7 and never looked back before taking the victory inside the Ha Dong Gymnasium in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Vietnamese bet was later granted a selfie with Reyes, who has been a popular figure among rivals, officials and fans since his campaign began earlier this week.
It will be Reyes’ second straight bronze in the one-cushion event, repeating the finish he had during the 2019 edition in Manila.
But the pool legend will not be going home just yet as he will still compete in the 3-carom event which starts Thursday.
Reyes will face Quyet Chien Tran in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. local time (7 p.m. Manila time).
Also ending up with the bronze in 1-carom is Francisco dela Cruz, who lost 100-20 to Pham Quoc Tuan in the semis.
Dela Cruz will also see action in 3-carom against Duc Anh Chien Nguyen of Vietnam in the quarters at 2 p.m. (3 p.m.) Thursday.