Efren's Mentor, Who can shed light on this story?

driz86

driz86

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So I was at my local pool hall a little while back talking to one of the main straight pool players around here (Michigan) and we got to talking about how a lot of the better 8 ball players happen to be relatively older guys with 14.1 backgrounds.

Well anyway, the discussion switched to 9 ball with the topic being that most of the top 9ballers are young with the exception of Reyes and Parica and company. This is where it got interesting for me... I asked the guy if seeing guys like Parica and Reyes who are well into their mid fifties and still able to compete with the young guns made him proud being in the same age range albeit mainly a 9ballers as opposed to him, who is predominately a straight pool shooter. He then tells me that as well as Efren plays now and did, there is a guy over in the Philippines who not only plays as good (I know) but plays better than Efren ever did (even in his twenties) and could never get his visa to come to the US therefore is unknown over here. He said that he was the guy that taught Efren everything about the game as a young adult.

I found this almost hard to believe as I have not read anything about this anywhere on the internet or here. I normally wouldn't post something like this on here but it's been eating at me for the longest time, mainly because the guy is as intelligent and knowledgeable about the game as anyone I've met and can play as well (I've watched him run a hundred on a triple shimmed gold crown 1 with 3-3/4" pockets). If you're from the midwest you probably already know who I'm talking about anyway.

In conclusion, is there anyone on here that can shed light on this for me? I'd like to hear anything about this.


Regards
 
Efren's mentor

Very interesting question.I have always wondered this myself about who Efren's main influence was.
 
driz86 said:
So I was at my local pool hall a little while back talking to one of the main straight pool players around here (Michigan) and we got to talking about how a lot of the better 8 ball players happen to be relatively older guys with 14.1 backgrounds.

Well anyway, the discussion switched to 9 ball with the topic being that most of the top 9ballers are young with the exception of Reyes and Parica and company. This is where it got interesting for me... I asked the guy if seeing guys like Parica and Reyes who are well into their mid fifties and still able to compete with the young guns made him proud being in the same age range albeit mainly a 9ballers as opposed to him, who is predominately a straight pool shooter. He then tells me that as well as Efren plays now and did, there is a guy over in the Philippines who not only plays as good (I know) but plays better than Efren ever did (even in his twenties) and could never get his visa to come to the US therefore is unknown over here. He said that he was the guy that taught Efren everything about the game as a young adult.

I found this almost hard to believe as I have not read anything about this anywhere on the internet or here. I normally wouldn't post something like this on here but it's been eating at me for the longest time, mainly because the guy is as intelligent and knowledgeable about the game as anyone I've met and can play as well (I've watched him run a hundred on a triple shimmed gold crown 1 with 3-3/4" pockets). If you're from the midwest you probably already know who I'm talking about anyway.

In conclusion, is there anyone on here that can shed light on this for me? I'd like to hear anything about this.


Regards
Click to expand...

That's scary... for some reason, when I read that part, I imagined some big, god-like, intimidating guy wielding a pool cue... something like this:

Listener-1265247-PirateKingGoldRoger.jpg


...except with a pool cue.
 
There was talk of a guy named Boy Bicol who was the best when he was alive. Boy was murdered so we can never know if he was "better" than Efren.
 
JB Cases said:
There was talk of a guy named Boy Bicol who was the best when he was alive. Boy was murdered so we can never know if he was "better" than Efren.
Click to expand...

I heard that Boy's stakehorses thought he dumped them (who the hell knows, that was forever ago) so they bobbed his arms off. I'm not sure where I read it, maybe somebody can confirm
 
Harsh

bigskyjake said:
I heard that Boy's stakehorses thought he dumped them (who the hell knows, that was forever ago) so they bobbed his arms off. I'm not sure where I read it, maybe somebody can confirm
Click to expand...


Scary sh*t. It would make a great movie or book.
 
Considering how huge Efren is, considering how many filipinos have done well in pool, considering how important pool is there, and considering we live in the 21st century, we would have heard about such a teacher by now, I would think. And we all know how personalities get blown out of proportion in pool.

Since there are a few Filipinos at AZ, they would know of such a person.
 
Did he mention any names? I know a certain Federico "Pedick" Lingan who used to spot Efren (if i'm not mistaken) 50-70 playing rotation maybe around early to mid 70'S. Pedick quit playing pool after a mysterious 6 month trip to a province south of Manila. When he went back to the Manila Efren was already beating everybody left-right-and-center.:D Pedick is one of the well respected referees in Manila today. Pic below (guy in black)

http://www.rayasports.com/images/hires_SubicDayTwo022.JPG
 
I don't think that Boy was ever considered to be Efren's "teacher" - from what I gather Efren just sort of grew up on the pool table and was being staked to play even as a schoolboy. That sort of environment lends itself to becoming a champion. I think Boy Bicol was the big dog at the time Efren was coming up. Roy or someone else can shed more light on this but I don't think that back then there was much in the way of teaching and mentoring going on - you learned by watching and practicing what you saw and then getting in action.

The Asians take their gambling very seriously.
 
JB Cases said:
I don't think that Boy was ever considered to be Efren's "teacher" - from what I gather Efren just sort of grew up on the pool table and was being staked to play even as a schoolboy. That sort of environment lends itself to becoming a champion. I think Boy Bicol was the big dog at the time Efren was coming up. Roy or someone else can shed more light on this but I don't think that back then there was much in the way of teaching and mentoring going on - you learned by watching and practicing what you saw and then getting in action.

The Asians take their gambling very seriously.
Click to expand...

I asked Edwin about Boy Bicol's story when I spent some time with him.
Edwin said Boy Bicol's stakehorse was being taken by some goons.
Boy Bicol insisted he go with them.
Next thing you know, they both end up hacked.
Efren was a youngster when Boy Bicol were getting hot. Totoy Dacer was the other guy. Totoy Dacer never made it in the US. He's the Pete Best of Philippine pool.
Parica somehow got a US visa and came here.
Efren could not so he used Caesar Morales's passport and visa.
Efren has told some friends though Boy Bicol was the first player to have awed him b/c of his cueball control.
Almost everyone in the Philippines who saw the action there swear when Efren was around 19 yrs old, he was at his best. A former stakehorse who lived around here in the mid 90's told me, when Efren made the first ball, he was out ( in rotation ).
I asked Edwin about Boy Bicol's speed, he said he was very good but Efren's game skyrocketed in two or three years when he was hanging out at Lucky 13.
 
p1noy said:
Did he mention any names? I know a certain Federico "Pedick" Lingan who used to spot Efren (if i'm not mistaken) 50-70 playing rotation maybe around early to mid 70'S. Pedick quit playing pool after a mysterious 6 month trip to a province south of Manila. When he went back to the Manila Efren was already beating everybody left-right-and-center.:D Pedick is one of the well respected referees in Manila today. Pic below (guy in black)

http://www.rayasports.com/images/hires_SubicDayTwo022.JPG
Click to expand...
Although no names were mentioned, this seems to be the most probable explanation as far as individuals go. Reason being that he mentioned the guy is still alive and in his seventies. Not sure though. Thanks.

Devin
 
ya, Thanks Terry, that was one of the most interesting threads I have read on here.
 
Efren himself has said nobody taught him the game, he learned from watching people play and practicing what he saw. He said he often learned from poor players because they would sometimes make shots you don't normally see from top players.

Remember he literally lived in a pool hall from the time he was a child, slept on or under the tables.
 
JB Cases said:
There was talk of a guy named Boy Bicol who was the best when he was alive. Boy was murdered so we can never know if he was "better" than Efren.
Click to expand...

I've heard my father and his pool buddies talk about Boy Bicol. They said that he would gamble using his right hand; and when the opponent quits, he'd offer them to play with his left hand (which they said his as good as his right hand; if not better). I also heard them saying that he was salvaged because his backers found out that he sold out the game.

Again, dont know if any of this is true or somewhat accurate. Just sharing what i've heard.

Pretty sure the older guys really knows what happened.
 
I always assumed efren reyes sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads.

cept he chose a pool cue rather than a guitar.
 
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