SURE BALL

April 19, 2025 Opinion

There’s this saying in billiards that when the stakes are high, like when the betting is heavy, and the pool players competing against each other are of the highest caliber, there is only one way to make sure that you can come out on top and that is sure ball pocketing. Among the elite billiard players in the world no one stands out as the greatest of all time or G.O.A.T. other than the magician himself Efren “Bata”
Reyes. During his heyday in the world of pool “Bata” as he is often called brought fear into the hearts and minds of other outstanding pool players because of his sure ball pocketing. Rarely does Efren miss in pocketing billiard balls and even when he does miss a shot will never leave an easy lay-out for his opponent to pocket the balls.

This is the legacy of one, if not the most intelligent and dangerous pool player in the planet. That he is still playing and hustling other pool players decades younger than he is despite his advanced age, he is now 70 years old, simply shows his competitive nature as an athlete. Does Efren still possess that sure ball pocketing? Not anymore, old age and deteriorating eye-hand coordination has gradually diminished that ability. But can he still play a good game of billiards? Of course! Perhaps when he can no longer bend over the table to pocket the balls
will Efren consider retiring from the game that elevated him to superstar status.

But a question that comes to mind is will Efren “Bata” Reyes, the G.O.A.T. in pool ever consider trying his hand in politics, and run for a local position, once he retires? The answer is no and the fact is, despite his overwhelming popularity with the masses, the idea of
becoming a politician obviously never entered his mind and despite numerous interviews by the media no one had even thought to ask that question, perhaps borne out of respect and because really he came to symbolize the game of pool for what it really is and to become
a politician now would be to sully that reputation and greatness.

Unfortunately, this is not so for some people who, having tasted a little bit of popularity and stardom would suddenly veer away from their chosen field of profession and sell themselves as politicians or claim to be public servants. It is quite sad really when we see movie actors and actresses, comedians and whatnot, who capitalize on their moviestar popularity to transform themselves as public servants in government. But what is even worse is when we have elected public officials who are ex-convicts or who have been accused and charged
in the court of law for absconding or pocketing the peoples’ money.

Nonetheless how can we blame these would be public servants when we also have voters who are starstruck by them and who would blindly vote them into office because of their previous popularity and status in another profession. It is not denied that due to their
popularity in some other profession it is a sure ball that they will be elected into office. And nothing can be done about it because it is the people who installed them into that public office. So in a sense these kinds of politicians are a sure ball when it comes to being
elected into office because their popularity will more or less guarantee their victory.

Of course, there are also rare instances when a few actors or actresses later turn out to be capable and effective elected public officers, but that is few and far between. In fact, there was this politician who was a former comedian and who later on retired from politics after his
name was dragged in a graft and corruption case. In this time and age we have yet to see an elected public official who is a sure ball in
being voted into office because he actually began his career and profession as a public servant and has a proven track record in public service.

It seems impossible to even hope that in the future we will have a public servant who is a sure ball winner because he began serving the people first as a sangguniang kabataan officer, a barangay kagawad then a punong barangay, then moving up the ranks as a sangguniang member of a city or municipality, and eventually as a vice mayor, mayor and congressman, before finally entering the big leagues and becoming a senator and possibly ending up as a vice president and president. Unfortunately, what we have now in government are, with the exception of some, half baked public servants who were either actors, actresses, comedians, ex-convicts, businessmen, and the rich elite who have their own vested self-interests to promote and protect. And because of their popularity and money are a sure ball to be elected into public office.