Article from The Manila Times dated December 7, 2006.
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/dec/08/yehey/opinion/20061208opi3.html
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Toothless in Manila
By Joel P. Palacios - December 7, 2006
AFTER Ronnie Alcano pocketed the final ball for the championship in the prestigious World Pool Tournament in Manila last month, he raised both hands and smiled. It was a toothless glory captured by the cameras and flashed all over the world.
Hey, the smile looks familiar. He reminds you of someone dear: your toothless Lolo and somebody famous.
Alcano is not the first world pool champion. Actually, the exciting world of pocket billiards, which has millions of adherents worldwide, has been the stomping ground of Efren “Bata” Reyes, who is known as “The Magician,” because of his deft execution of difficult shots in many closely fought contests. Bata is a tough competitor, who has dominated the sport for years. During the game, Bata is a picture of intense concentration, but afterwards, when he wins, he celebrates his victory with his familiar smile. He shows nothing but gums.
Is it mere coincidence that both Alcano and Reyes are toothless when they compete against the world’s best players? Is it an advantage to be toothless during the game and the world is not privy to it yet?
Maybe there is an advantage. But why should we share our secret with our rivals in the game? We should keep it to ourselves and consider it a national secret. Next time we send competitors to a world tournament let’s first knock out their teeth.
Let us also find out if the toothless advantage will work in other sports as well. What about chess, basketball and tae kwon do, for example, where we have been struggling to gain world attention. What about boxing? Will somebody volunteer to knock out the teeth of Manny Pacquiao?
We can make a mark in the history of sports by becoming a country of toothless champions. Toothless and good. Not toothless addicts like those in the United States.
There is a new drug scourge in America today called the “meth mouth.” It is sweeping through the rural communities and literally hitting users through the teeth.
Meth mouth is a disturbing dental decay that rots teeth so quickly that some patients require full-mouth extractions, according to news dispatches. The decay is striking. Teeth become brittle and break as black cavities form along the gum lines. “It looks like you tell the person to stand up and take a sledgehammer to the mouth,” said Dr. Jeffrey Paskar, a dentist in Springfield, Missouri.
Authorities said victims of meth mouth are drug addicts using a new recipe of Methamphetamine, which is easy to manufacture out of readily available products like ammonia and cold medicine. It has supplanted cocaine as the top drug-related law enforcement problem, local officials said.
The problem is particularly acute in western United States.
Law enforcers in the US southwest said that meth mouth is their biggest problem and police officers use meth mouth to spot users and target them for drug busts.
We want Bata and Ronnie to keep winning, and they should not stop smiling for the cameras. But let’s keep them guessing about the reason behind the smile.
It cannot be said that Reyes and Alcano are toothless because they cannot afford to buy false teeth. With all the prize money they have amassed, which run into millions of pesos, both men are well off.
Word has gotten around that Reyes’ sponsors actually fitted him with beautiful dentures in the early years of his rise to world prominence. Reporters close to Reyes said he took it off during the tournament. The toothless smiles were no accident.
Alcano, on his part, said Reyes has always been his idol and dreamed of following his footsteps as a world champion. He did so and got his chance to flash his own toothless smile when he won the championship.
Reyes and Alcano may have set a trend in world pool competition. Let’s not be surprised if we see a lot of toothless participants in the next tournament in the Philippines. They can label the contest: “Toothless in Manila.”
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/dec/08/yehey/opinion/20061208opi3.html
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Toothless in Manila
By Joel P. Palacios - December 7, 2006
AFTER Ronnie Alcano pocketed the final ball for the championship in the prestigious World Pool Tournament in Manila last month, he raised both hands and smiled. It was a toothless glory captured by the cameras and flashed all over the world.
Hey, the smile looks familiar. He reminds you of someone dear: your toothless Lolo and somebody famous.
Alcano is not the first world pool champion. Actually, the exciting world of pocket billiards, which has millions of adherents worldwide, has been the stomping ground of Efren “Bata” Reyes, who is known as “The Magician,” because of his deft execution of difficult shots in many closely fought contests. Bata is a tough competitor, who has dominated the sport for years. During the game, Bata is a picture of intense concentration, but afterwards, when he wins, he celebrates his victory with his familiar smile. He shows nothing but gums.
Is it mere coincidence that both Alcano and Reyes are toothless when they compete against the world’s best players? Is it an advantage to be toothless during the game and the world is not privy to it yet?
Maybe there is an advantage. But why should we share our secret with our rivals in the game? We should keep it to ourselves and consider it a national secret. Next time we send competitors to a world tournament let’s first knock out their teeth.
Let us also find out if the toothless advantage will work in other sports as well. What about chess, basketball and tae kwon do, for example, where we have been struggling to gain world attention. What about boxing? Will somebody volunteer to knock out the teeth of Manny Pacquiao?
We can make a mark in the history of sports by becoming a country of toothless champions. Toothless and good. Not toothless addicts like those in the United States.
There is a new drug scourge in America today called the “meth mouth.” It is sweeping through the rural communities and literally hitting users through the teeth.
Meth mouth is a disturbing dental decay that rots teeth so quickly that some patients require full-mouth extractions, according to news dispatches. The decay is striking. Teeth become brittle and break as black cavities form along the gum lines. “It looks like you tell the person to stand up and take a sledgehammer to the mouth,” said Dr. Jeffrey Paskar, a dentist in Springfield, Missouri.
Authorities said victims of meth mouth are drug addicts using a new recipe of Methamphetamine, which is easy to manufacture out of readily available products like ammonia and cold medicine. It has supplanted cocaine as the top drug-related law enforcement problem, local officials said.
The problem is particularly acute in western United States.
Law enforcers in the US southwest said that meth mouth is their biggest problem and police officers use meth mouth to spot users and target them for drug busts.
We want Bata and Ronnie to keep winning, and they should not stop smiling for the cameras. But let’s keep them guessing about the reason behind the smile.
It cannot be said that Reyes and Alcano are toothless because they cannot afford to buy false teeth. With all the prize money they have amassed, which run into millions of pesos, both men are well off.
Word has gotten around that Reyes’ sponsors actually fitted him with beautiful dentures in the early years of his rise to world prominence. Reporters close to Reyes said he took it off during the tournament. The toothless smiles were no accident.
Alcano, on his part, said Reyes has always been his idol and dreamed of following his footsteps as a world champion. He did so and got his chance to flash his own toothless smile when he won the championship.
Reyes and Alcano may have set a trend in world pool competition. Let’s not be surprised if we see a lot of toothless participants in the next tournament in the Philippines. They can label the contest: “Toothless in Manila.”
