My good friend is a player rep for most top Filipino players when they come to the western part of the US. People he represents include Orcullo, Marlon, Gallego, Valle, Corteza, and a few more. He is also good friends with Efren, Bustamante, and Luat. Anyways, I had a discussion with him about this very subject. I asked him who is the best player in the Phillipines, besides Efren.
Bear in mind that my friend plays at the pro level, and obviously he is very adept with knowledge of pool, and he keeps up to date with action in the Phillipines. He told me that there are certain levels of players, who although may appear unbeatable to people in the US, they are not on certain levels of other players in the Pinas. I told him how highly I thought of Marlon's game, and asked him how he would do against Orcullo. He told me quite sternly, "Marlon has no chance against Orcullo in a long match."
I was pretty shocked when he told me this. He told me there are two different tiers for the top players, and named some of the players that belong in the top tier. Efren, Bustamante, Alcano, Orcullo, Corteza, Pagulayan, and Parica when he's there, are in the "top tier" of players there. He mentioned a few others, but I forgot their names. In a tier right below them, are the likes of Gandy Valle, Manalo, Luat (who used to be in the top tier), Leonardo Andam (who also used to be in the top tier), Gallego, De Luna, and a few others that I can't remember.
I also asked him how Efren feels about Orcullo. He also gave me pretty serious answer, and I quote "If Efren's in stroke, nobody has a chance, especially in a long match. Orcullo will play Efren if he thinks Efren's game is off. When Efren's game is on, everybody knows it, and everybody stays away from him, especially Orcullo. He can't touch Efren when hes in stroke."
That pretty much sums it up. I forgot to add, that even the second tier players, when they are 'on' they can beat any of the high tier any time.
