'No worry over cue artists' exodus'

MANILA, Philippines - The president of the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines is not alarmed by the possibility that some of the country’s finest players might consider going overseas in exchange for higher-paying jobs as coaches.

“It’s their choice,” said BSCP chief Bong Ilagan yesterday.

He was reacting to the possibility that Ronnie Alcano, the former world champion, might follow in the footsteps of former Asian Games gold medalist Antonio Gabica who now works in Kuwait.

Gabica has been there for nearly a year now, receiving a monthly salary probably 10 times as much as the P15,000 monthly allowance the elite national athletes receive from the Philippine government.

Perry Mariano, who manages the careers of some of the country’s top cue artists, said Filipino players are getting offers of at least $3,000 a month for them to serve as billiards coaches in Kuwait, Qatar and Dubai.

Alcano is seriously considering the offers.

Yet, Ilagan said there’s nothing the BSCP can do, and probably as well as the Philippine Sports Commission which provides the monthly allowances of those under the national pool.

“It’s their right to earn more. Besides, even if they stay here, they still need to go through qualifying tournaments for them to represent the country overseas. There are no seeded players here,” said Ilagan.

The BSCP president, the one being recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee, said the absence of Gabica or Alcano in the local scene doesn’t mean that the country will be short-handed when it comes to talent.

“We still have most of the good players with us. Efren “Bata” Reyes is still with us as well as Django (Bustamante) and the others. We still have 80 to 90 percent of the good players around,” said Ilagan.