dominic wrote:
elmer haya must get himself exposed to international tournaments to temper his nerve. in billiard's international scene, only the ones with better control of nerves will prevail. it is sad to see our player losing not because of lack of skills but because "dinaga" (nervous). i can still remember how roberto "the superman" gomez lost to darryl peach in their championship match in manila. the superman was performing superbly, downing top caliber players all the way to the championship match against the british player. when their game reached near the final stage, "dinaga" si superman and committed mistakes, and that was it. even a single mistake can turn the outcome of the game, how much more when one commits several blunders.
to our local players, specially the up and coming ones, learn to master your nerve first before committing yourselves to mastering billiards. do daily physical exercise and learn to relax your breathing. you can do it, with just a daily exercise.
Exercise won't help you there. It's more mental than physical.
Efren lost several finals ( including world 9-ball in the US against Strickland ) before he won his US Open in '94.
Efren lost in the FINALS of the US Open 3 times in a row after that.
Then he won the world 9 in 1999.
Haya is inexperienced in world tournaments and the pressure got the best of him. He is one year wiser and a lot more experienced now after this year's world 9.