MANILA, Philippines — The massive search for the next Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante is on.
Thanks to the newly formed Sharks Billiards League (SBL) in partnership with Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP), the local pool scene has been revived with the goal of discovering new heroes in the sport so dear to Filipinos.
The SBL was launched last month as the brainchild of billiards promoter Perry Mariano and godfathers Aristeo “Putch” Puyat, Isaac Belmonte and Jonathan Sy of BMPAP, and new officials Eric Salud, Larry Lim, Jojo Sanchez, Doc Mon Aguirre and Hadley Mariano.
“Pool was the only sport that Filipinos dominated. Sadly, this is slowly being forgotten as we no longer have future players to continue what legends and champions put an indelible mark in the world pool,” said Hadley, a former collegiate varsity billiards player (La Salle Greenhills).
In a dominant stretch two decades ago, the Philippines served as the bastion of the sport by harvesting a truckload of international titles behind Reyes and Bustamante as well as other greats like Lee Van Corteza, Dennis Orcullo, Alex Pagulayan and Jose “Amang” Parica.
The winning tradition carried over to the local scene with every street and sitio boasting regular tournaments, exhibition games and new talents came one after another for a bustling Philippine billiard industry only to slow down in the new millennium – paving the way for rival countries to catch up and overtake the country.
Slowly but surely though, the next generation has started to get back on track with Carlo Biado leading the way highlighted by his championship in the US Open.
Recently, Biado along with Johann Chua and Rubilen Amit ruled the 2022 Predator World Teams 10-Ball Championship.