As the Philippine billiards team’s newly-appointed playing-coach to the Asian Games in Guangzhou China later this year, pool legend Efren “Bata” Reyes plans to implement a strict screening for those vying to be members of the national squad.

Reyes said that except for the English billiards where he has already been seeded along with Rey Grandea, Rubilen Amit, Irish Ranola, and Mary Ann Basas, tryouts will bne held for the men’s 9-ball singles, 8-ball singles, canon cushion singles and snooker singles and the women’s 9-ball single and snooker 6 red balls team.

“No one will be seeded to the (other) teams, both in the men’s and women’s sides,” Reyes, widely considered as the greatest pool player in the world, said in the SCOOP sports forum last Friday. “We have so many good players today, so to be fair to everybody, we will conduct tryouts.”

The 55-year-old former world 9-ball champion, named as Player of the Decade by the US media last month, said that he will also participate in the eliminations for the other events.

A total of seven players will make up the men’s team while six will compose the distaff side.

Appearing alongside national coach Boyet Asonto, Reyes has been tasked to help in the series of tryouts by the Billiards and Snooker Council of the Philippines to determine the composition of the national team for the quadrennial Games.