Women on Cue

by Boying Santos-Viola

In 1993, a Brooklyn-born Korean American named Jeanette “Black Widow” Lee brought international attention to female cue players as the only Asian female player on the WPA tour. Since then, more and more women participate in the sport, with numbers reaching 100 in a U.S. Pro Tour. Women from Taiwan, mainland China, Korea, and the Philippines have also turned out in increasing numbers for Asian pool events.

In 2002, a handful of female cue enthusiasts under the guidance of World Champion bowler Olivia “Bong” Coo formed an association called The Philippine Women Players on Cue. Although Ms. Coo was not a cue player herself, her passion for sports drove her into helping the women behind PWPC achieve their objectives. They began facing seemingly insurmountable challenges that lacked the support of the local sporting community. After a few years of drumbeating, however, the group eventually dissolved.

Recognizing the efforts of the few active remnants of the PWPC and in keeping with the International Olympic Committee's call to encourage women participation in sports, The Billiards & Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) included pool events for women at the 23rd Southeast Asian Games in 2005.

The BSCP conducted their first ever women’s, attracting 35 female cue artists from all over the country. Topping the ranks were Mary Ann Basas, Rubilen Amit, Iris Ranola, Magda Say, Johanna Dee and Toni Anne Nobleza.

At the SEA Games, Rubilen outperformed her team mates by winning two gold medals, one each in the 8-Ball singles and 9-Ball singles events. Singapore won two silvers and one bronze medal and Malaysia won one silver medal.

This event was later followed by the Ladies 9-Ball Championship held in Manila. Despite the best efforts of the Filipina players, the finals saw two-time World 9-Ball Champion Ga-Young Kim of South Korea defeating Shu-Pin Kao of Chinese-Taipei, 11-4, in the finals. There were a total of 26 cueists, 12 from the Philippines, 7 from Taiwan, 5 from Japan, 1 from Thailand and 1 Korean.

The following year, the BSCP formed another women’s team to compete in the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. Rubilen Amit and Iris Ranola competed in 9-Ball singles while Mary Ann Basas joined Rubilen in the 8-Ball Pool singles. The Filipinas lost to their Asian counterparts during the elimination round except for Iris Ranola who defeated Tan Shiang Lin of Taipei in the quarterfinals, 7-6. 23 female players took part representing 10 Asian countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Japan, Korea, Syria and the Philippines.

In March 2007, the BSCP conducted their 2nd National Pool Championships. Ranola, Basas, Amit and Jingle David made it to the top eight. Iris later won P200K, Mary Ann P100K, Rubilen P50,000 and Jingle P25,000.

Turning pro that same year, Amit placed second to China’s Xiao Ting-Pan in the Amway Women's World 9-Ball Championship. She defeated Yukiko Hamanishi of Japan in the semis 9-6, and Ga-Young Kim in the quarterfinals, 7-2. Amit won $10,000.

During the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand, Amit won a gold medal in the 9-Ball Pool singles and a bronze in the 8-Ball Pool singles. Basas and Ranola won silver and bronze in the 6-Red Snooker singles, respectively. A total of 22 women players competed in the Games. 3 from the Philippines, 3 Indonesians, 4 Malaysians, 4 Singaporeans, 6 Thailanders and 2 Vietnamese.
Ranola then competed in the 2008 WPA US Open 9-Ball defeating pool’s “Duchess of Doom” Allison Fisher in the 1st match, 9-8. She brought down five more opponents in the winners bracket before being outclassed by Kelly Fisher in the finals, 1-7.

September, the BSCP introduced 10-ball to its 3rd National Pool Championships. Monette Oryan, a 19-year old freshman nursing student from Laguna and a native of Iloilo, won the 2008 title defeating Floriza Andal, 9-6 in the final rack. Oryan and Andal, also 19 years of age, scored equal racks until the last four when Andal gave in to pressure missing crucial shots. Veteran player Jingle David won over Beberly Flores, 7-6 settling for 3rd and forth place. A total of 13 players competed in the Championships. Amit, Basas and Ranola did not compete.

As a National Sports Association (NSA) and a member of the Philippine Olympic Committee, BSCP is committed to its mission in encouraging and developing women players to excel in billiard sports.

Playing billiards is not the only skill Filipina cue players have mastered, refereeing has taken the interest of a few. One of the two female referees, Ma. Rochelle "Cielo" Lopez of Valenzuela, Bulacan shifted from breaking cues to refereeing and has gained respect for her professionalism. She has refereed in two World Championships and numerous BSCP sanctioned Championships and Tours. BSCP is eyeing on training more specialized referees in the coming years to raise the standard of local competitions.

Though a few Filipina players have caught the eye of international promoters, women players still face an uphill challenge with minimal support from both the private and government sectors compared to their male counterparts. A number of players including Jasmin Ouscher (Austria), Ine Helvik (Norway), Katrine Jensen (Denmark), Kelly Fisher of the USA, Liu Shin Mei of Taipei, Pan Xiaoting (China), Lin Yuan Chun (Taipei), Kim Ga Young (South Korea), Hamanishi Yukiko (Japan) have already earned more than enough from podium finishes and sponsors’ endorsements to keep them well-supported for future competitions.

BSCP is proud to have supported the development women players such as Rubilen Amit, Iris Ranola, Mary Ann Basas and all of its young women cue artists, allowing them to serve their country well. BSCP has set its sights on Monette Oryan and Floriza Andal to be just two of the upcoming new names to be added in the Philippine history of women billiards.