Billiards: BSCP, BMPAP form a "Dream Team" for SEA Games
July 24, 2009 9:41 am
By Lily O. Ramos
MANILA, July 24 — A “Dream Team.”
That’s how the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) describes the 16-man squad it has formed to compete in the forthcoming 25th Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane, Laos in December.
Led by pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes, the team is looking to win at least four of the 10 gold medals at stake in the biennial meet.
Besides the 55-year-old Magician, the other members of the team are Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Ronnie Alcano, Alex Pagulayan, Dennis Orcollo, Lee Van Corteza, Ramil Gallego, Roberto Gomez, Gandy Valle, Warren Kiamco, Rodolfo Luat, Reynaldo Grandea and Benjie Guevarra.
Reigning World Women’s 10-Ball champion Rubilen Amit will banner the women’s side along with Iris Ranola and Mary Ann Basas.
All of them are also members of the Billiards and Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) and Senator Manny Villar’s Team Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine sports.
“This is the best billiards team ever formed,” declared BSCP president Arturo “Bong” Ilagan. “No other team in the world is better than this.”
“The United States can form a dream team in basketball, we are the only country that can do so in billiards and this is it.”
Reyes is set to compete in the carom and English billiards events, where he will team up in the former with Luat and Grandea.
Bustamante, Corteza, Orcollo and Gallego will compete in the 9-Ball events, while Alcano, Valle and Kiamco will play in the 8-Ball, and Pagulayan, Gomez and Guevarra will see action in the snooker competitions.
The line-up was already submitted to the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) for approval.
The BSCP also issued a challenge to Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Harry Angping to form his own billiards team and pit it against the “Dream Team.”
“This is the team he shooed out while practicing at the Rizal Memorial. This is the team he does not want to see at the Gameball. And this is the team he refuses to support," said Ilagan.
“He has been proclaiming that he has his own standard in determining who to give the PSC’s support, so we want to know his standard and see if it’s better than ours and other NSAs.”
“Maybe we could put a prop bet that if his team. He can import foreigners -– if it wins, we’ll give him the BSCP, but if he losses, he will support all the Filipino athletes and then resign.” (PNA) LOR/pr
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