BMPAP questions BSCP picks to Guinness tour

The Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines is up in arms again, this time questioning the selection of the three players who will represent the country in the coming Guinness 9-Ball Tour.

In a press statement, Atty. Vic Rodriguez, the BMPAP president, said the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines “resorted to the distasteful process of handpicking” the players for the Tour’s initial leg in Taipei.

Rodriguez questioned the selection of Marlon Manalo, Antonio Gabica and Jeff de Luna without the holding of a qualifying tournament. The first of the six Guinness legs is scheduled Feb. 29 to March 2.

The BMPAP represents majority of the professional cue artists in the country, including the best players like Efren Reyes and Django Bustamante, and is also recognized by the Games and Amusements Board.

“What’s their (BSCP officials) basis for selecting the three?  Yan ngang turo-turo system ang ikinagalit ng mga players sa kanila, and yet here they are again. This is another injustice not just for the players but also for our country,” said Rodriguez.

The head of the BMPAP, recently formed after the players protested the BSCP’s running of the sport in the country, said they will file a protest with the GAB headed by Eric Buhain.

“Filling up these three slots without holding a qualifier, which can be completed in a day, is outright unfair and prejudiced,” he added.

Rodriguez  said the players BSCP chose were the “bottom-dwellers” in last year’s edition, and are not even on top of the world ranking, Manalo being at No. 36, de Luna at No. 56 and Gabica at No. 119.

The BMPAP said they have better players like Dennis Orcollo (No. 1), Ronnie Alcano (No. 3), Joven Bustamante (No. 6), Django Bustamante (No. 11), Roberto Gomez (No. 13), Warren Kiamco (No. 28), Reyes (No. 32) or even the unheralded Elvis Calasang (No. 34).

“Aren’t those players ahead of them not deserving just because BSCP officials don’t like them?” said Reyes.

As product endorsers of Guinness, an Irish beverage, former world champion Alex Pagulayan and Joven Bustamante have been seeded to the tournament.

Edwin Reyes, BMPAP spokesman, said the GAB could even prevent Manalo, Gabica and De Luna from taking part in the Tour unless they secure a clearance from the agency, which oversees all professional sports and all professional athletes in the country.

Meanwhile, Amado Diokno Jr., BSCP spokesman, said the BSCP being a member of the Asian Pocket Billiards Union and the WPA system, has the authority to select players for the Guinness Pool Tour and other sanctioned international events.

“In choosing players BSCP applies a selection process designed to pick those most suitable to represent the association and the country,” he said.