Camille Naredo

Philippine pool legend Efren 'Bata' Reyes, 'The Magician' celebrates his 71st birthday with adoring fans at the Pacman Cue Club (PCC) at the Worldwide Coporate Center in Mandaluyong City on August 26, 2025.

Philippine pool legend Efren 'Bata' Reyes, 'The Magician' celebrates his 71st birthday with adoring fans at the Pacman Cue Club (PCC) at the Worldwide Coporate Center in Mandaluyong City on August 26, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Efren 'Bata' Reyes

Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

MANILA – Philippine billiards legend Efren &#x27;Bata&#x27; Reyes was honored at the Pacman&#x27;s Cue Club in Mandaluyong City on Tuesday, the same day he turns 71 years old.Reyes was greeted by cheers from his friends, colleagues, and supporters when he arrived at the venue. The 71-year-old billiards icon thanked everyone who came to celebrate his birthday and sent well wishes.READ: Bata Reyes thrills fans in Jakarta meet-and-greethttps://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2025/4/30/bata-reyes-thrills-fans-in-jakarta-meet-and-greet-0149&quot;Ito okay naman. Parang nararamdaman ko hindi pa ako tumatanda, parang bata pa ako. Itong ginawang birthday para sa akin na ito napakasaya,&quot; he said.&quot;Sa totoo lang, ang lahat ng ito bahagi ng isang napakalaking adhikain na hindi ko inakala ang isang pinangarap lamang ay nagsimula na,&quot; Reyes added.Marlon &quot;The Marvelous Captain&quot; Manalo and World Pool Champion Francisco &quot;Django&quot; Bustamante were among those who greeted Reyes for his birthday.&quot;Wish ko kay Efren lagi siyang tuloy-tuloy siyang maglaro, lagi siyang malakas. Huwag siya hihinto maglaro kasi pag tumigil siya maglaro baka humina siya. Happy ako kay Efren na ine-enjoy niya yung paglaro, passion niya yun eh,&quot; Manalo said. &quot;Lahat ng ito ay pagpupugay namin ni senator [Manny] Pacquiao para sa iyo. Happy Birthday.&quot;&quot;Alam mo naman na love na love kita. Kahit matanda na tayo, tayo parin. Kaya sanay ay abutin ka pa ng maraming maraming taon,&quot; Bustamante said. &quot;Maraming salamat sa Manalo brothers pinasaya niyo kumpare ko.&quot;Of course, Reyes did not pass up the chance to show that he&#x27;s still got tricks up his sleeve as he hit some shots on the pool table.<div> </div><div>&quot;THE MAGICIAN&quot; BOOK LAUNCH</div>The official biography of Reyes entitled &quot;The Magician&quot; was also launched on Tuesday.The book, which is named after Reyes&#x27; billiards moniker, was written by his compatriot Manalo.&quot;Hindi ko ho inaakala may maglalakas ng loob na sumulat ng buhay ko, hindi lang bilang manlalaro kung hindi pati ang buhay ng isang Efren Bata sa likod ng lamesang ito,&quot; Reyes said. Manalo started working on the book since 2019. He said this book will feature the story of Reyes straight from the legend himself.&quot;Yung mga totoong nangyari from Efren, coming from Efren. Tiyanaga po namin yan for six years, lagi kaming nagkukwentuhan. Pumupunta kami Pampanga from morning til evening. Hindi yon isang araw-araw,&quot; he said.Manalo shared what else readers can expect from the book, which is available at the Pacman&#x27;s Cue Club. &quot;Gusto namin ito yung totoong buhay ni Efren. Walang retoke, ito yung totoong Efren kung paano siya naging from humble beginning, &#x27;til humble end. Pati buhay pamilya niya, challenges niya sa buhay, sobrang nakaka-inspire,&quot; he said.&quot;Hindi lang pala puro success talaga. Ang dami palang pinagdaanan ni Efren. Andun din yung time na minsan umayaw narin siya sa bilyar eh. Kaya lang siguro gusto ng tadhana na magkaroon tao ng kababayan na irrefutable, unarguably na greatest of all time player,&quot; Manalo added.<div> </div><div>HOME FOR BILLIARDS PLAYERS</div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175621953591320250826-efren-bata-reyes-birthday-JC-2182.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Philippine pool legend Efren &#x27;Bata&#x27; Reyes, &#x27;The Magician&#x27; celebrates his 71st birthday with adoring fans at the Pacman Cue Club (PCC) at the Worldwide Coporate Center in Mandaluyong City on August 26, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News"/>Philippine pool legend Efren &#x27;Bata&#x27; Reyes, &#x27;The Magician&#x27; celebrates his 71st birthday with adoring fans at the Pacman Cue Club (PCC) at the Worldwide Coporate Center in Mandaluyong City on August 26, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</div>It was a triple celebration as Reyes and Manalo led the ribbon cutting for the grand opening of the Pacman&#x27;s Cue Club, which aims to serve as a home for billiards players.Reyes thanked former eight division boxing champion Manny &quot;Pacman&quot; Pacquiao for the support and trust. He hopes the newly opened cue club will help develop new Filipino cue artists and encourage others to try the sport.&quot;Nagkaroon ng isang billiard hall ang ating mga batikang bilyaristang Pilipino. Mga bilyaristang nagiingay at gumagawa ng pangalan hindi lamang sa Pilipinas at sa buong mundo. At mga kabataang nangangarap maging billiards ang sport,&quot; Reyes said.&quot;Ang Pacman&#x27;s Cue Club po ay naglalayon na itaas ang antas ng ating mga bilyarista, hindi lang po sa larong kanto kungdi ang billiard as a sport with a home called PCC,&quot; he explained.Part of proceeds from the Pacman&#x27;s Cue Club, book and other merchandise will go to assist current, retired and upcoming billiards athletes. Manalo said he wrote the book and helped open Pacman&#x27;s Cue Club to give back to Reyes and assure his family will be secure for the next few years.&quot;Wala hong ginawa si Efren kung hindi tumulong sa iba... It is time na ibalik natin sa kanila, he deserves yung pagkilala. Yun nalang ho appreciation ko kung bakit kami gumawa ng bilyaran, ng libro, ng merchandise,&quot; he explained.&quot;Itong Pacman&#x27;s Cue Club in honor po of Efren &#x27;Bata&#x27; Reyes. It&#x27;s long time overdue na, kailan ho natin siya bibigyan ng parangal? Habang nandito pa siya maramdaman niya appreciation ng mga Pilipino&quot; Manalo added.The former pool player hopes Reyes will be recognized on a national scale, since in the billiards world, the 71-year-old has been regarded as the greatest of all time (GOAT) even by other champions.&quot;Yung GOAT po siguro coming from other players ah, internationally and locally, parang siguro it will take a century pa para makabuo ng sunod na Efren Bata,&quot; Manalo said.As for Reyes, he believes there are a lot of budding Filipino talents who may follow in his footsteps and keep the Philippines on the map.Reyes said it&#x27;s a weeklong celebration of his birthday, as they also kicked off the Efren &#x27;Bata&#x27; Reyes Yalin 10-ball championship from August 27 to 30. The tournament has a guaranteed prize pool of P2 million, with the winner getting P1 million and the rest will be divided among the other players.

Philippine billiards legend Efren 'Bata' Reyes was honored at the Pacman's Cue Club in Mandaluyong City on Tuesday, the same day he turned 71 years old.

Philippine billiards legend Efren 'Bata' Reyes was honored at the Pacman's Cue Club in Mandaluyong City on Tuesday, the same day he turned 71 years old.

PH billiards legend Efren 'Bata' Reyes honored on 71st birthday

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PH billiards legend Efren 'Bata' Reyes honored on 71st birthday

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 27, 2025 01:09 AM PHT

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