Garcia bats for billiards inclusion in Palaro

STA. CRUZ, Laguna – Is billiards, a sport where the country has raked in medals in the international scene including the Asian and Southeast Asian Games, worthy of a spot in the Palarong Pambansa?

As far as Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia is concerned, it is.

"Billiards is a sports event Filipinos can play that's why we're encouraging the Department of Education to have it included in its Palaro calendar," said Garcia, who was here to attend the inaugurals.

Garcia said billiards must be treated equally as other sports instead of treating it as a street or parlor games.

After all, the sport has produced world champions like Efren "Bata" Reyes, Francisco "Django" Bustamante, Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan, Ronnie Alcano and Rubilen Amit.

”Instead of treating billiards as a parlor game, why not include them in the Palaro because if you go around the world, like in Great Britain, billiard is the sports of the rich. It is royalty game like snooker,” said Garcia.

"Also, we have produced world champions like Bata Reyes, Django Bustamante and a lot more in the past," he added.

Garcia, whose agency has provided sports equipment and technical expertise, also said athletes in this annual multi-sport meet for elementary and high school athletes who will produce strong results and shatter national records will be considered for national pool inclusion.