Raph Cleary
Active member
Efren says he spotted Parica in his prime, and Parica says he spotted Efren in his Prime?
Reyes & Parica Rivalry
- Thread starter Raph Cleary
- Start date
It no longer maters as each is beyond his prime.
In 1984 at the Caesars Tahoe tournament I heard Jose Parica tell a bystander that he was not necessarily the best player in the Philippines. This came after one of his two losses to Dan Louie.
That's not what that clip says.
Ok.....PARICA was a monster. he was the most FEARED gambler in his era. Not Efren. PARICA. Prime time Buddy Hall wasn't trying to tangle for the cash with Parica. That is here, in the states.
I LOVE Efren as much as everyone. he is the magician. BUT - if he had played Parica in their primes a race to 100 in anything (including one pocket), I'm taking Parica on every bet. He just played...perfect.
He and Efren just apparently had a rivalry of EGOs, but that's ok. It pushed them harder.
Edited to add - there is a match between him and Efren, in their primes, in the PI on YOUTUBE and Parica waxes Efren. If you search "EFREN REYES vs JOSE PARICA" it's literally the first video - watch how he moves that cue ball on that old equipment with old style cue. 1988 World Pro Championship.
I LOVE Efren as much as everyone. he is the magician. BUT - if he had played Parica in their primes a race to 100 in anything (including one pocket), I'm taking Parica on every bet. He just played...perfect.
He and Efren just apparently had a rivalry of EGOs, but that's ok. It pushed them harder.
Edited to add - there is a match between him and Efren, in their primes, in the PI on YOUTUBE and Parica waxes Efren. If you search "EFREN REYES vs JOSE PARICA" it's literally the first video - watch how he moves that cue ball on that old equipment with old style cue. 1988 World Pro Championship.
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Your right he did and he looked sharp. His game didnt fall off because of age it was desire, he fell out of love with the game for a while and I hope/think he's regaining the drive.
I LOVE Efren, he is the most creative player of all time and its his style and creativity that puts him above Parica. Perica was never the One Pocket player that Efern is, but in 9 Ball or 10 Ball I'd take Parica too.
There's a old Acc-Stats video of Parica running over Earl and it will give you some insight to how well Parica's rotation game was.
His style and creativity are amazing. I love BATA.... but they don't put him "above" Parica. Parica was not as likeable as Efren. The smile, the scratch on the head when he makes a mistake. Efren was and is filled with charm... Parica was just a lion on a leash. He was there to chop your head off when he played you. Ask old school dudes of that era their opinion. Maybe we can get Jay Helfert to chime in. Again....I think if they had a big race - Parica "could" have beaten Efren at one pocket as well. There, I corrected myself. He doesn't HAVE to win...but he's no underdog either. And I say all this with the understand that I LOVE EFREN. I just thing Parica is not appreciated like he should be.
That's because he was trying to match up.
In their prime, if you bet against either one, you were probably throwing your money away. We are fortunate to have witnessed such a great player like Efren, in our lifetime. Who among you have walked into Hard Times and said "I'll spot everybody."
I don't disagree, Efern is way more likable in a marketing since, but Parica had as much talent for sure. My One Pocket opinion comes from talking to Cliff and Ronnie who played them both a lot and felt that Efern was the much better player.
The good thing is that now that Parica is coming around again and they are both in good health maybe we'll get to see them in a "Make It Happen" One Pocket Match?
Raph Cleary
Active member
He played Oscar Dominguez, still plays great for his age! He played Bustie about a year ago race to 15 and it went to hill-hill!
Although he was not as successful overall in torunament play, I think head-to-head Parica has a winning record against Reyes in tournaments. I saw Jose beat Efren 13-4 in the finals of a big tournament at Hollywood Billiards in the late 90's/early 2000's with an unreal gear. And of course, Jose was the most feared 9-ball money player on the planet for a long time.
Raph Cleary
Active member
The most feared 9-ball money player for a good 20 years! such a shame parica and buddy never matched up for money.
At nine-ball, Parica was a tougher out in action than Efren, but he was never the all-around player that Efren was, and was a little less creative. I'm talking about the days when they were at the peak of their nine-ball skills together, so that means the 1990s.
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8intheside
Well-known member
They say “stats don”t lie” Efren has without a doubt had the more successful pro career. As far as money games between them? It’s all in who you believe, I’ve heard both say they’ve gotten the better of it over the years.
cool thread
I have a memory of reading that efren beat up on everybody, including parica, I believe before cesar came stateside
I'll dig around and see if I could find it..I think it may have been in a mag, prob billiards digest
I've also read separately that efren played his best game in the 70s, couldn't find a game so he picked up carom
who knows tho..really, who knows? and is telling it like it was? would like to hear from them..
I have a memory of reading that efren beat up on everybody, including parica, I believe before cesar came stateside
I'll dig around and see if I could find it..I think it may have been in a mag, prob billiards digest
I've also read separately that efren played his best game in the 70s, couldn't find a game so he picked up carom
who knows tho..really, who knows? and is telling it like it was? would like to hear from them..