A golden November in our soul

By next week, it should be a golden, rather than gray, November in our sporting soul. Very fittingly, indeed, we host the biggest and most prestigious annual international pool tournament.

For our purposes, make that "Bilyar" – the game and competition where we shine best, decidedly more so than in boxing, bowling, ballroom dancing, and certainly a far cry from basketball.

Thanks to our legendary cue artists, led into foreign campaigns by "Amang" Parica as early as the ’70s, and followed up with even more flourish by Efren "Bata" Reyes – now known the world over as "The Magician" – our sunrise-industry "export" of poolhall talent brings in jaw-dropping dollars in prize money, and has also established the Pinoy sargo army as the most fearsome in the world.

From November 4 to 12, the World Pool Championship will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center or PICC, no less than a sterling venue in the country that has become regarded as the "spiritual home of the modern game."

That famous quote is from Luke Riches of Matchroom Sport of the United Kingdom, which will be staging the tournament, with ESPN Star Sports as the official broadcaster. Official host and organizer is Raya Sports & Events of the Philippines.

Officially dubbed the "2006 Philippines World Pool Championship," the fast-paced 9-ball competition is sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiards Association, the sport’s international governing body, and the local sports association, the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines or BSCP.

Barry Hearn, chairman and founder of Matchroom Sport, expressed recently: "Since Matchroom Sport first put on the WPA World Pool Championship in 1999, it has always been our ambition to stage this magnificent event in the Philippines. Now that dream will become a reality."

ESPN’s Harvey Davis has chimed in: "I am proud that ESPN STAR Sports will be the official host broadcaster of the event for the third year running – a role that brings with it our continued commitment to deliver the most comprehensive coverage of the tournament on Asian television."

For his part, the man who has put it all together, our very own Yen Makabenta, BSCP chairman and Raya Sports president, exults: "For a long time, people from all over the world have wondered when this top billiards tournament will be held in the Philippines, since we have an abundance of world-class pool talent. Finally, we can say that the world championship will be staged here in our country."

Some 50 countries will be represented by topnotch billiards talent that will vie for the top prize of US$100,000, the biggest in the tournament’s history. The total prize money is US$400,000, which will be awarded up to the 64th slot.

Among the expected competitors are defending champion Wu Chia-Ching who won on home ground in Kaohsiung, Taiwan last year. He defends his title against former world champions led by our pride and glory, "Bata" Reyes who won the title in Cardiff, Wales in 1999, as well as 2004 winner Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan, 2003 winner Thorsten Hohman from Germany, 2002 winner Earl Strickland from the USA, and 2001 Mika Immonen from Finland, among others.

Matchroom Sport has designed the sets at the PICC for the 2006 Philippines World Pool Championship, which will be televised by host broadcaster ESPN Star Sports of Singapore. The worldwide sports broadcaster will handle and feed the coverage to its cable network plus hundreds of networks around the world. Live broadcasts are scheduled for Asia and Europe, including the UK. In addition, a host of countries around the world have subscribed for highlight packages.

Indeed, worldwide interest in the event has been keen. Hotels in Manila are busily booking reservations, with several hundreds of Taiwanese, Japanese and Koreans seeking seats for the tournament. At least 10,000 visitors are expected in Manila for the principal purpose of participating in or watching the WPC. That’s without counting the thousands of balikbayans who will be coming home in November for this event and for the holidays.

Official equipment includes the Brunswick Metro (Tournament Edition) for tables, the Simonis 860 for cloth, the Saluc Super Aramith for the balls, and the Predator as the official cue stick.

The opening rounds on the weekend of November 4 and 5 will see the full roster of 128 competitors broken up into 32 groups of four players each who will undertake a round-robin in race-to-8 matches, alternate break format. The top two in each group move forward to the knockout stages, with the order decided by total points, followed by most racks won, most racks conceded, and the result of any match between players concerned.

The Last 64 stage, entry into which will already guarantee a competitor $2,000 (3rd place in the initial groups wins $1,000), will feature race-to-10 racks, winner breaks, same with the Last 32 stage. For the Last 16, it’s a race-to-11 racks, winner breaks, ditto the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals. The Final, to be played on Sunday, November 12, will feature a race-to-17 racks, winner breaks.

Now, that should place someone like "Bata" at an advantage. Barring an upset owing to bad luck or, literally and figuratively, the breaks of the game, the factor of sheer skills, other than luck, emerges through longer match play.

The selected, invited and seeded Filipino competitors for this tournament enjoy top rankings, especially in terms of numbers, with Germany and Taiwan coming in a close second and third, respectively. Filipinos have won, at least once, all the major pool tournaments in the world. At the SEA Games last December, our pool players won eight out of 14 gold medals – the highest percentage in any sport.

The brimming pool talent manifests our love for the game. Like basketball, bilyar cuts across all classes, with no self-respecting male (and these days that should include the distaff side), going through puberty and teenhood without trying out the tako or cue stick, tiririt or bridge, and tisa or cue chalk.

Other than kanto-boy tradition that has now been supplanted or complemented by ritzy pool parlors in malls and nightspots, the Pinoy may be said to have an affinity for the game due to native "abilidad."

It’s also an individualist’s sporting arena, with hardly any team play or spirit involved except at official sports meets. And there is something to the delicacy of sorting out angles of vision, coupled with imagination run rampant and a small-ball feature, that turn us into "naturals."

Here’s hoping that our "Bata"-led army will post an across-the-table homecourt conquest this November, with one of our own making that final pocket of the 9-ball in yellow that might as well be gold.

Before all eyes turn to Manny Pacquiao’s "finale" encounter with Erik Morales in late November, we all have something to cheer about, and our erstwhile kanto boys to cheer for.

Here’s hoping as well that full support comes from the private and government sector, now that the BSCP and Raya Sports have won the rights to host at least the next two stagings of the World Pool Championship.

Abanse Pinoy!

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The 2006 World Pool Championship is sanctioned by the World Pool Association, which is the world governing body for pool and administers the game at many levels across the globe.  Membership of the WPA is made up of continental members which currently consists of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America Oceania and Latin America and the Caribbean. Individual national associations are in turn members of their continental associations.