What do yuou think of the Philippine Billiard players?

Question

They have a lot of good players there... like Efren Bata Reyes...

Answer 1

Reyes is probably the best in the world for the last 15 years. he has a knack for making low percentage shots.

Answer 2

Once you already have your style then it is too late to be technically proficient/straight shooter.

Answer 3

heck yea they kick butt

Answer 4

Dominant

Answer 5

and if only billiards was an olympic sport...the philippines would have an olympic gold medal by now

Answer 6

They are pro pool players for god sake, their exceptional ability no doubt comes from way too much spare time, perhaps a barrage of players from one area of the world shouldn't be considered cultural or ethnical.....just of function of the fact that there isn't much else to do but play pool in their nape of the woods.

Answer 7

thank you all for such wonderful compliments (i'm a filipino, you see)...

what can i say about our (filipino) billiard players? they made us proud. by their efforts alone, they showed the world that despite our faltering image in sports, there lies other sports which can contribute for us to be known. filipinos excel in three b's (billiards, bowling, boxing)... yet never had we laid on one olympic gold medal. (not counting the bowling gold we earned - arianne's, it was demo sport then).

true, we don't play or usually follow textbook style. see, on every corner of the philippines - that is apart from basketball courts -, we have so many billiard halls in place. and more often than not, kids from eight years to 15, cut classes and just play billiard as sort of something like fun... there, you could witness different styles, without anyone teaching them. and as the years pass, these kids adapted their style and develop it thru constant playing... and without anyone on hand to teach them the rudiments. thus when a competition comes along, we tend to compete with each other, thereby the discovery of new, raw fresh, talents. but mind you, however good they may be, the difficulty in having a sponsor is there present. unless you earn a niche, or a name in the sport, you'd have a hard time finding one, thus the development remains stagnant. sponsors here abound once you made a name internationally. they knock at your door so fast, it'd beat the c**p out of you. thereby, reyes, bustamante, pagulayan, manalo, orcullo, andam, luat, parica, gabica.... they are still the ones playing while the kids or developing players stay untapped, lest they earn a name...

again, my deepest gratitude for such wonderful compliments...

Answer 8

i think...who cares?!?!?!?

Answer 9

Players like Reyes, Bustamante, Sambajon, etc., are extremely gifted players.  One thing that they all have in common is an extremely high level of natural ability, which all professional players have to some extent.  The raw instinct that Filipino players possess is almost unsurpassed.  The downside of their "style" is just how unorthodox it really is.  There is very little about their styles that could be considered "textbook".  Henceforth, trying to teach or to even explain their style of play is virtually impossible.  I always use Alison Fischer as a perfect example of the perfect blending of both natural ability and solid fundamentals.  Sure the Filipino players have made their style work for them, as do many amateur league players around the world.  I can only imagine what a pool genius like Efren Reyes would accomplish if he had been properly trained from the beginning.  M.D.-BCA Instructor/Referee.

P.S.  It's never too late to start over.  Tiger Woods has started over from scratch several times, breaking down his golf swing and building it back up again.  Tiger had the humility and determination to heed the advice of trainers who he could obviously beat at golf.  Sure, there would be an initial performance slump during the adjustment period.  Soon, the new techniques would become second nature and significant improvement would follow.  The same holds true for pool.  I've seen it many, many times.

Answer 10

philippine billiard players are the most dominant right now on the planet ... they've just recently won the world cup of pool tournament consisting of 32 teams/countries ... when they invade america a long time ago, they took pool to another level ... they are the masters of kicked shots and safety plays ... leaving opponents in awe ... yet they are very humble ... another thing about filipino players is the "gambling" ... they loved the pressure playing for money ... the motivation is different than other players ... they're at their best when big money is on the line ... go and keep the filipino flag high!