Achivements

For nearly 21 years, the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines has consistently won honors for the country, garnering three Asian Games gold medals and twenty-nine Southeast Asian Games gold medals.Committed to its mission as a National Sports Association, the BSCP has given its amateur players opportunities to master the sport by competing in the international arena other than the Asiad and SEA Games. Today, most of its players have turned “Professionals” competing with various Asian and World Champions such as Daryl Peach of Britain, Chia-Ching Wu of Taipei, Earl Strickland and Johnny Archer of the USA, Kelley Fisher of the USA, and Jasmin Ouschan of Austria, to name a few.

Today, the BSCP is proud to recognize the fruits of its many years of work. Players who have gained respect from the world’s top professional players: Lee Van Corteza, Antonio Lining, Warren Kiamco, Marlon Manalo, Antonio Gabica, Benjamin Guevarra, Jr., Gandy Valle, Joven Alba, Al Ortega, Alan Cuartero, Reynaldo Grandea, Rubilen Amit, Mary Ann Basas and Iris Ranola.

Even with its accomplishments, the BSCP remains vigilant and is fully aware of its crucial role in the sport of billiards. The adoption of new training technologies by foreign competitors is now a standard thus the BSCP feels that in order to remain competitive it is imperative to establish a Billiards and Snooker Academy. Only with this, the BSCP would be able to press forward with its mission in bringing more honors to Filipinos and the country.

Officers

Florentino P. Makabenta
Chairman/ Board Member

Sebastian Chua
President/ Board Member

Edgar AcabaSecretary General / Board Member

Carlos Santos-ViolaBoard Member

Emmanuel Argonza
Public Relations Officer / Board Member

BSCP-NSAs Ranking in the SEA Games

The Southeast Asian Games is the most contested multi-sport event in the region. This is where the Philippines sends the most number of athletes and officials compared to the Asian and Olympic Games.

Although there are sports that are fairly new and not regularly calendared in the SEAG such as baseball, softball, dance sport, & arnis, the Philippines still dominate these sports compared to the traditional ones like aquatics, athletics, lawn tennis, judo, karatedo, cycling, badminton, table tennis, and others. This was also evident during the early stages of the SEAG when the Philippines were the masters in the first three sports mentioned only to be overtaken shortly by its well funded challengers.

Billiards has, on average, ranked 8th among the top 10 sports equal to that of wushu. Like basketball, billiards is just as popular in the Philippine archipelago having over 4 million men and women regularly playing the sport either for recreation or otherwise. However, unlike basketball where there are only 2 events (men & women), billiards involves more disciplines and events as follows: Men's 8-Ball singles & doubles, 9-Ball singles & doubles, Snooker singles, doubles & team, Snooker 6-red singles, Carom 1-cushion, Cadre, English Billiards singles & doubles, 15-Ball Rotation singles & doubles, and Women's 8-Ball singles, 9-Ball singles, Snooker singles, Snooker 6-red singles.

NATIONAL SPORTS ASSOCIATIONS PERFORMANCE AVERAGE
IN THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES (1995-2007)

Rank - Sport - Medals at Stake - Gold Won - % Average

1 - Softball - 2.0 - 1.7 - 83.33%
2 - Baseball - 1.0 - 0.5 - 50.00%
2 - Arnis - 6.0 - 3.0 - 50.00%
3 - Basketball - 2.3 - 1.2 - 53.33%
4 - Golf - 4.0 - 1.8 - 45.83%
5 - Fencing - 8.2 - 3.2 - 38.78%
6 - Dance Sport - 6.0 - 2.0 - 33.33%
7 - Archery - 4.8 - 1.5 - 31.25%
8 - Wushu - 21.0 - 5.4 - 25.71%
8 - Billiards - 11.7 - 3.0 - 25.71%
9 - Taekwondo - 16.0 - 3.7 - 23.21%
10-Traditonal Boat - 5.8 - 1.2 - 20.11%
11- Chess - 8.0 - 1.5 - 18.75%
12- Bowling - 9.5 - 1.7 - 18.05%
13- Muay - 9.0 - 1.5 - 16.67%
13- Triathlon - 3.0 - 0.5 - 16.67%
14- Rowing - 9.0 - 1.4 - 15.56%
15- Boxing - 12.3 - 1.9 - 15.06%
16- Wrestling - 12.0 1.8 - 14.58%
17- Equestrian - 5.3 - 0.8 - 14.29%
18- Athletics - 42.8 - 5.7 - 13.24%
19- Judo - 14.0 - 1.8 - 13.10%
20- Aquatics - 35.8 - 4.0 - 11.16%
21- Cycling - 13.2 - 1.3 - 9.76%
22- Karatedo - 18.6 - 1.4 - 7.53%
23- Shooting - 29.8 - 1.9 - 6.23%
24- Tennis - 7.0 - 0.4 - 6.12%
25- Lawn Bowls - 6.0 - 0.3 - 4.17%
26- Gymnastics - 18.2 - 0.6 - 3.30%
27- Sailing - 14.0 - 0.3 -1.79%
28- Pencak Silat - 17.8 - 0.2 - 0.94%
29- Badminton - 7.00 - 0.0 - 0.00%
30- Football - 1.83 - 0.0 - 0.00%

Hockey - 2.0 - 0.0 - 0.00%
Net Ball - 1.0 - 0.0 - 0.00%
Petanque - 8.3 - 0.0 - 0.00%
Polo - 1.0 - 0.0 - 0.00%
Rugby - 2.0 - 0.0 - 0.00%
Sepak Takraw - 4.6 - 0.0 - 0.00%
Shuttle cock - 7.0 - 0.0 - 0.00%
Squash - 2.8 - 0.0 - 0.00%
Table Tennis - 7.0 - 0.0 - 0.00%
Volleyball - 3.5 - 0.0 - 0.00%
Weightlifting - 12.3 - 0.0 - 0.00%

Average gold medals at stake/Game = 327

PHI average gold medals won/Game = 46 or 14.00% (w/o 2005 SEAG = 11.00%)

Medals Won in the Asian and SEA Games

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.

2009 Snooker and Carom Challenge Series

8 May: Billiards & Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) Academy, RMSC, Malate, Manila – After five frustrating frames James Al Ortega conceded to his teammate Benjamin Guevarra, Jr. with a 4-1 loss in the 6-Red snooker finals. Guevarra, a silver medalist in the 2007 SEA Games won the first 3 frames with a 42 pt. average versus the 17.6 pts of Ortega, a SEA Games bronze medalist. Even though Ortega rallied in the 4th frame he lost on the 5th deciding frame giving Guevarra the 1st place.

In the 3rd & 4th place playoff, SEA Games gold medalist Joven Alba won 4 frames of 5 over Luis Saberdo averaging 32.4 pts per frame compared to Saberdo’s 12 pts. Alba’s accuracy proved well earning him the 3rd place in the 6-Red snooker event.

Two young cueists 25 yr old Alvin Barbero and 19 yr old Michaelangelo Mengorio entered in their first ever snooker tourney. Barbero beat Guevarra 4-3 early on in the group matches.

After almost 5 hours of ball spins and placing, Reynaldo Grandea won the carom 1-cushion event by a mere 7 point lead over Luis Saberdo. Both players gave their best shots on even footing from the start up to the 60th inning with 149-142 pts as their final score. BSCP Technical Director Ricardo “Mon” Ancaja expressed his admiration for both of the players motivation to win the carom event.

Grandea is a 2003 SEA Games medalist in the Balkline and 3-cushion carom events as well as in English-billiards. Saberdo is also a 1995/93 SEA Games medalist in both snooker and English- billiards.

Winning carom’s 3rd and 4th place were Emilio Villariza and Ernesto Reyes respectively. Villariza is a 2005 SEA Games bronze medalist in the cadre 47/1 carom event.

This 7-day event was the 1st of 3 series, the latter being the championship. A total of twenty five entries played snooker and fifteen in carom. In-line with its mission to promote & develop billiard disciplines in the country, the Snooker and Carom Challenge will now be an annual BSCP tournament .

The 2009 Snooker & Carom Challenge 1 partners were the Philippine Sports Commission and Pocari Sweat.

2008 WPA World Juniors Championships

by Marlon Bernardino

A gathering of 20 countries from four continents with Asia having the largest contingent, the WPA World Junior Championship broke open on December 1-4 in Sands Regency Hotel, Reno, Nevada, USA.

The Philippines fielded three players, two boys - Jerico Banares and Jonas Magpantay and a lone girl - Zemonette Oryan. All (except for Jerico) first timers in competing in a foreign country and international in nature, the Filipinos proved their mettle in the 4 day event.

Banares twice missed on the black eight during his 8-11 defeat at the hands of Taiwanese Ko Pin-yi in the finals. Breaks didn't go his way.

After picking up a win off Ko's break to level at 5-all, Banares came up empty in each of his next four breaks.

Banares miscalculated another shot on the black eight for the second time in the match on the 16th frame.

With Ko on the hill, Banares clustered two racks to pull within 8-10 and breaking. After yet another dry break, Banares got a chance to put more pressure on the defending champion as Ko failed to cover the blue two on his safety shot.

But Banares, again, couldn't get past No. 8. miscued a shot on the green six, Ko gamely cleaned up the table to retain his crown.

"Bilog talaga ang bola," said Banares. "Ayaw akong paboran sa break ngayon. Mabuti pa sa semis laging may pumapasok sa sargo ko."

His fine breaking game against Norio Ogawa of Japan in the semifinals resulted to an easy 9-4 victory.

It also avenged the 5-7 loss of Zemonette Oryan to Japanese Konischi Samia in the semifinals of the girls' division.

Oryan's defeat was also a hard pill to swallow. She was undefeated heading into the semifinals and the heavy favorite to win it all.

But she fell behind early and her missed shot on the nine-ball sealed her fate on the 12th. Samia, however, fell to Britanny Bryant of Canada, 8-9, in the finals.

Banares took home the silver medal while Oryan settled for the bronze.

Meanwhile, Jonas Magpantay ended his campaign with an 8-9 loss to Banares in the quarterfinals.