Filipino Boycott

a shame and probably nobody wins

The boycott is a shame for pool and chances are that nobody wins if it stays in effect. On the other hand, isn't this the same group that shafted Alex awhile back so it is possible that none of the players in the other camp would have been allowed to play anyway.

A world championship without the best in the world there is hollow. When some of the top players of the host country aren't there it will be noted by all.

Hu

What injustice and conflict?

AZBilliards will be posting a story soon about this situation. We are trying to determine what "injustice and conflict of interest" the BMPAP is referring to. We received a press release from them referring to a 'position' taken by the BSCP being offensive but have received no reply as yet to our inquiry as to what was meant by this.

Anyone who knows what is meant by either of these phrases is encouraged to PM me (I will keep my sources private) and let me know so we can write this article. To say the least, things have gotten 'interesting' in the Philippines.

It must be nice to have a big enough pool scene to be able to boycott anything.

This reminds me of years back with the Camel tour and the up n coming new associations...

Jerry Forsyth said:

AZBilliards will be posting a story soon about this situation. We are trying to determine what "injustice and conflict of interest" the BMPAP is referring to. We received a press release from them referring to a 'position' taken by the BSCP being offensive but have received no reply as yet to our inquiry as to what was meant by this.

Anyone who knows what is meant by either of these phrases is encouraged to PM me (I will keep my sources private) and let me know so we can write this article. To say the least, things have gotten 'interesting' in the Philippines.

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First of let me address for the umpteen time the "injustice and conflict of interest" question.

Being a big issue then, I'm sure that people remember the Alex Pagulayan suspension from the BSCP. BSCP's reason for the suspension was Alex's supposed "sharking" moves in a Guinness Tour Leg. At the time, we believe that BSCP has the right to pick (for lack of any other organization to represent the sport here), though we prefer qualifiers*, who they want to send to an event where the organizer approached them. At the same time, RAYA was promoting "Pool Showdown" and Makabenta invited Alex to play in this private production. We believe that in this private enterprise event (RAYA Sports' Pool Showdown) the player (Alex Pagulayan) has every right to ask for an "appearance fee". Yen apparently didn't like Alex's request for an "appearance fee" so below is a link to the video that showed Alex, according to Mr. Fajardo, Makabenta and Chua, sharking his opponent. You be the judge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f36A8fM9N1w

How about the Guinness qualifier incident? The GAB (Games and Amusements Board) Chairman Eric Buhain has requested BSCP to hold a qualifier for the 2nd leg of 2008 Guinness 9Ball. BSCP granted this request but limited the participants to just their invitees (16 players). 8 of which were BSCP/PBDF players and 8 were BMPAP players. This arrangement excluded the other high level players of the Philippines namely, Gandy Valle(Asian Games Gold medalist), Romeo Villanueva (Asian Games Gold medalist), Carlo Biado (Korea Open runner-up), Roberto Gomez (2007 WPC runner-up), etc from the said qualifier. After RAYA Sport's Tournament Director Sol Gueco announced the invited qualifier names (line-up in itself is questionnable) we, the above players, other players who wanted to join and myself (who was the designated Managing Officer of the Bugsy Group) were told to leave the STAR BILLIARDS venue as we are not invited by or allowed by Mr Sebastian Chua to stay in Mr Sebastian Chua's property.

They, RAYA's Sol Gueco, deviced a round robin 4 groups of 4 Players arrangement that equally devided each group to be composed of 2 PBDF/BSCP players and 2 BMPAP players. No drawing lots for group composition for this qualifier to determine who will occupy the 2 available slots. Fast forward ----- our BMPAP players topped each group as their BSCP/PBDF players failed to stop them. So, with the 8 players determined and to compose the single knock-out stage of 8 players, BSCP's Jun Diokno announces "we are only offering ONE(1) slot as we've decided to reserve the other one for OUR PLAYER! If you don't like to follow our rule then the door is wide open! Ronnie, Warren, LeeVan and company left for not wanting to subject themselves to this dictatorship.

More injustices? I have more but this may be enough for now just to enlighten you Jerry. By the way Jerry, the above are all documented in newspapers and forums and the minutes of the Senate Hearing and not just my story.

Some rep poiints on the way for you JAM, I agree wholeheartedly

Alex is truely a one of a kind player and person, and is one of the few characters that Pool has today

Willie

JAM said:

I know that you want nothing better than to have pool excel in Philippines. I wish you luck in all of your endeavors. I empathize with the turmoil that your organization may be experiencing right now. I hope it all ends up satisfactory for all parties involved. :smile:

JAM

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I want pool to excel in the Philippines, true. Secondly, I want it to be, excell in the Philippines, for it to be used as a foundation for developing or helping uplift the sport worldwide.

JAM said:

Speaking of which, I found this little news nugget this morning: http://www.xpress4me.com/news/uae/fujairah/20008547.html

Ian Anderson, president of the WPA, is quoted as saying this in the article: "The fact that we brought our sport to Fujairah by way of a major championship has undoubtedly been a major factor for the people in Qatar to commence their own event. I'm sure it won't end with Qatar, we are anticipating requests before too long to stage an event in other nations such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. There is interest too from Iran, Syria and Lebanon," added Anderson.

There seems to be a lot of attention in the Middle East for pool, and the WPA is very happy to be sanctioning events there.

I wonder if the WPA has ever given an award to the United States. :shrug:

Lots of oil money in the Middle East. I guess like everything else, pool goes where the money is. There sure doesn't seem to be a great deal of support by way of sponsorship and pool money in the States, as there is in the Middle East. :sorry:

That said, I cannot tell you how proud I am this morning. The good folks at Big Daddy's in Baltimore, MD is hosting a qualifier for Charlie Williams' (Draon Productions) upcoming 14.1 tournament in New Jersey.

Check out the local sponsors they got for their event:

A-1 Mortgage, George Matthews, Annapolis, Maryland
All Pro Painting Service, Annapolis, Maryland
Auto International, Annapolis, Maryland
BB&T, Generals Hwy, Annapolis, Maryland
Bowen's Farm Supply, Annapolis, Maryland
Bruce Burns Associates, Annapolis, Maryland
Chesapeake Times, Chestertown, Maryland
Dr. Michael S. Frank, Ph.D., Hanover, Maryland
Dragon Promotions, Charlie Williams and Cindy Lee
Energetics Technology Center, LaPlata, Maryland
Garcia Lawn Service, Annapolis, Maryland
Hairtique Hair Salon, Patti Adkins, Arnold, Maryland
Heidler Plumbing & Heating, Annapolis, Maryland
Hill Consulting, Inc., Annapolis, Maryland
Ed Hodan Contracting, Freehold, New Jersey
Dave and Lidia Schmidt, Insurance Intermediaries, Dublin, Ohio
Iwan Simonis, Inc., Gurnee, Illinois
Frank J. Kolbe, Attorney, Towson, Maryland
Charles T. Magee, Washington, D.C.
Marsh USA, Inc., Washington, D.C.
Michael W. Rosa, Merrill Lynch, Fairfax, Virginia
Nationwide Insurance, Peter Crilly, Annapolis, Maryland
Ralph Rubin, Baltimore, Maryland
Scardinia Plumbing & Heating, Millersville, Maryland
Peter D. Sears, Madison, Wisconsin
Severn Insurance, Ltd., Annapolis, Maryland
Severn School, Severna Park, Maryland
Spar Data Business Valuation, Laurel, Maryland
Warren Kahle Photos, Annapolis, Maryland
Whitmore Group, Annapolis, Maryland

I just don't seem to see the presence of the WPA in the United States as much as I do in Europe, Philippines, and now the Middle East.

Picture of WPA President Ian Anderson presenting Le Meridien Al Aqah official an award for their efforts of bringing pool to the Middle East.

Watch out, Philippines, the Middle East may be the new WPA favorite child.

JAM

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That's good and as long as it's our boys that help train the ME players then we've got our finger on the pulse. :wink: Why is it good? They, WPA, are now working instead of just recieving sanction fees. They can't just be a calendar keeper in exchange for the sanction fees. They're worthless as a lobbyist for pool in IOC. Not hitting on WPA but just stating the truth.

JAM said:

It looks to me like politics has raised its ugly head in Filipino pool.

This just in...Bata, others to boycott world 10-ball

THE big guns of Philippine pool, including three world champions and a former world's no. 1 player, will boycott the inaugural staging of the World Ten Ball Pool Championships slated September at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano "all World 9-Ball titlists" and Francisco "Django" Bustamante, once the top-ranked Filipino player by the World Pool Association, decided not to join the prestigious world event for personal reasons.

These players belong to the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines. They announced to boycott the prestigious event, the first in a five-year franchise acquired by Raya Sports from the World Pool-Billiards Association, as a sign of protest for what they perceived as "injustice and conflict of interest" by the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines, headed by its chairman Yen Makabenta and president Ernie Fajardo.

The World Ten Ball Pool Championships is organized by the BSCP and promoted by Raya Sports, owned and operated by Makabenta.

"We're fighting for a cause. We hope that this action serves as a wake-up call for players and private sponsors. Sana ma-realize nila na hindi lang sila kundi maraming players ang patuloy na niloloko ng mga abusadong opisyal ng BSCP," BMPAP vice chairman Perry Mariano told Standard Today.

Fajardo was not surprised by the BMPAP?s declaration."

Read all about it: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=sports6_july10_2008

JAM

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Notice the parts of that news article that I emboldened and resized. The BSCP is the NSA that determines Philippine representatives to the Asian Games, SEA Games and World Pool Championship for Juniors and Girls. So, if players don't do their bidding and play in RAYA(private firm) events then this player loses his chance to be selected as representative of the country to the said international events. This non-qualifier system of selection has been going on for more than 20 years now.

FACTS:
1. The Philippine Pool Tour(PPT) is a BSCP event as admittted by Makabenta during the Senate Hearing.
2. The World 10-Ball is a RAYA event as admitted by Fajardo in a news article.
3.The qualifier for the World 10-Ball Championship is the PPT.

Tell me what you think of the above.

bandido said:

Tell me what you think of the above.

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I'll tell you what I think of the above: I think there's more politics in pool than there is in POLITICS :frown: !!!

Maniac

Gerry said:

This reminds me of years back with the Camel tour and the up n coming new associations...

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Pretty good analogy, Gerry. First, Don Mackey, then later the Jacobin pool players practically ruined men's pro pool in these United States. The Phillippine pool dictators seem even more powerful, so it'll be interesting to see if their good ole boy system will cause the demise of pro pool in their country. Pool there seems to be as big as golf is here, so maybe the sport will continue on, despite these hurdles.

Doc

It's all about the money!

Bandido said:

"The BSCP is the NSA that determines Philippine representatives to the Asian Games, SEA Games and World Pool Championship for Juniors and Girls."

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Bandido, the BSCP is the governing body of pool in the Philippines as recognized by the WPA. So they pick the players (as do all regional governing bodies such as the BCA, the EPBF, etc.) to all WPA-sanctioned events. This is no different anywhere else than it is in the Philippines.

Bandido said:

"So, if players don't do their bidding and play in RAYA(private firm) events then this player loses his chance to be selected as representative of the country to the said international events. This non-qualifier system of selection has been going on for more than 20 years now."

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Bandido, how is this different than being a player in the EPBF or any other organization that is affiliated with the WPA? All players have to play in the official ranking events to earn ranking points to qualify for the World's. Recently, the EPBF players were told that they could not play in the event in Spain but had to travel instead to Qattar if they were to play that week. So I do not see where the players in the Philippines are being required to do anything much different from other players around the world. If I am missing something here please tell me.

Bandido said:

FACTS:
1. The Philippine Pool Tour(PPT) is a BSCP event as admittted by Makabenta during the Senate Hearing.

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The Euro-Tour is a tour owned by the EPBF. The PPT is a tour owned by the BSCP. What is the difference?

Bandido said:

2. The World 10-Ball is a RAYA event as admitted by Fajardo in a news article.

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RAYA produces events for the BSCP. It was RAYA who produced the two WPC events previously. Both Raya and the BSCP are headed by Yen Makabenta. This follows a pattern set previously by others such as Mr. Tu in Tokyo who promoted world evetns while he also headed the APBU.

Bandido said:

3.The qualifier for the World 10-Ball Championship is the PPT.

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Are BMPAP players not allowed to play in these? I am told that they are.

Now, Edwin, I must admit that I am playing the doubting Thomas here because I want this entire situation to see the light of day and would like more info. I have found daylight to a be a powerful curative for political ills. Frankly, I do not believe either side here is totally correct or wrong. I see errors on both sides. The real question here is "what will it take to get the two sides to unite for the good of Philippine (and world) pool?" As long as the two groups continue to battle it will hurt the game. I would like to see a resolution of these problems and a progression forward by all.

What appears to be happening currently is that the two sides are talking AT one another rather then TO one another. Perhaps if the BMPAP puts on the WPC and the BSCP puts on the WTBC then the WPA can get these two parties together and form a cohesive union between them. Currently, I am not optimistic.

Jerry Forsyth said:

Bandido, the BSCP is the governing body of pool in the Philippines as recognized by the WPA. So they pick the players (as do all regional governing bodies such as the BCA, the EPBF, etc.) to all WPA-sanctioned events. This is no different anywhere else than it is in the Philippines.

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Right, did you notice the events that I enumerated? They are all considered AMATEUR events that only awards medals and trophies to its winners. The Philippines does have a Government Agency that regulates and supervises PROFESSIONAL sports.

Jerry Forsyth said:

Bandido, how is this different than being a player in the EPBF or any other organization that is affiliated with the WPA? All players have to play in the official ranking events to earn ranking points to qualify for the World's. Recently, the EPBF players were told that they could not play in the event in Spain but had to travel instead to Qattar if they were to play that week. So I do not see where the players in the Philippines are being required to do anything much different from other players around the world. If I am missing something here please tell me.

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The difference is this is the Philippines and as stated above we have laws. The Philippines too has the most popular pool players that draw in SRO crowds in any event in any part of the world and in essence puts $$$$$ in promoters pockets.

Jerry Forsyth said:

The Euro-Tour is a tour owned by the EPBF. The PPT is a tour owned by the BSCP. What is the difference?

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The difference here Jerry is that government funds were used. When a private entity gets entitled to recieve funds that Filipino people pay through their tax money these projects, such as the WPC 2006 & 2007, had better been awarded to RAYA SPORTS through a public bidding and NOT handed to.

Jerry Forsyth said:

RAYA produces events for the BSCP. It was RAYA who produced the two WPC events previously. Both Raya and the BSCP are headed by Yen Makabenta. This follows a pattern set previously by others such as Mr. Tu in Tokyo who promoted world evetns while he also headed the APBU.

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You don't see anything wrong with that Jerry? We're not talking about a few hundred thousand pesos here for TV spots. This cost the Filipino a minimum of 30 MILLION Pesos that was paid out to an entity that didn't have to go through "public bidding"! You mentioned Mr. Tu, btw from Taiwan, yet you may not know that he's also losing players.

Jerry Forsyth said:

Are BMPAP players not allowed to play in these? I am told that they are.

Now, Edwin, I must admit that I am playing the doubting Thomas here because I want this entire situation to see the light of day and would like more info. I have found daylight to a be a powerful curative for political ills. Frankly, I do not believe either side here is totally correct or wrong. I see errors on both sides. The real question here is "what will it take to get the two sides to unite for the good of Philippine (and world) pool?" As long as the two groups continue to battle it will hurt the game. I would like to see a resolution of these problems and a progression forward by all.

What appears to be happening currently is that the two sides are talking AT one another rather then TO one another. Perhaps if the BMPAP puts on the WPC and the BSCP puts on the WTBC then the WPA can get these two parties together and form a cohesive union between them. Currently, I am not optimistic.

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Please read VM's e-mail to you and the Senate transcripts in Matchroom Sport Forums. Read too the articles in these Philippine newspapers www.philstar.com and www.inquirer.net on tuesday or wednesday. More to come Jerry.

IBP is the owner of the Eurotour - EPBF sanctions the Eurotour.

President of IBP, a private company based in Holland, is vice-president in EPBF. Vise-president in IBP is President in EPBF, and secretary of the WPA.

So, if the Eurotour makes profit, does the money go back to European pool, or it's owner? The owners of IBP would like to make profit, but at the same time the board of EPBF would like to make money so they could do more for pool in Europe. But who get's the money?

I don't like when people have so many hats to wear...

It's the same with Yen Makabenta and the 10 million pesos he got in sponsorship from the Government.

RAYA Sports got the 10 million pesos, but when Yen was talking to the government which hat did he use?

Would the government still give 10 million pesos to Yen if they knew it was a private company that would receive the money? Did they believe that Yen received the money on behalf of a governing body of a very popular sport? Which Yen were the government talking to, the Raya-Yen or the BSCP-Yen?

I smell a rat

I must say that I'm totally saddened by what is happening in Philippine Pool. what is evident is there is a power struggle between 2 parties. I'm quite familiar with traditional Philippine Politics and it has been a problem for the longest time that an organization like the BSCP (though duly authorized by the WPA to conduct qualifying events for international championships) would do everything by legal or illegal (do some manipulations to make it appear legal) inorder to shut down an opposing organization such as the BMPAP. this is more of a vendetta slugfest. personalism rather than professionalism. it doesn't matter if the sport gets hurt as long as they get what they want or show who's boss.

I would only hope that a commission in sports would butt in and abolish the BSCP for good.

lemme remind you that I have nothing against the BSCP but got something to say about the officials who are inducted in that organization. some of the names who are in there are long-term politicians and have some personal connections within the government. these certain personalities don't even know an ounce about Philippine sports nor pool but have distinguished roles as successors of notable families of politicians. it would only take a miracle for these people to step down. even a sex or money laundering scandal couldn't/wouldn't budge these people to do the right thing of resigning. there is just too much money in politics that it thickens their skin.

call it a conspiracy or mutinee, but there is a reason why the crew of a ship would do such a thing. loss of confidence or belief in the organization. for whatever causes such loss of confidence or belief came from, in general , it is not a good one.

the most disturbing thing is that notable and well-known and respected players are among these mutineers. call it as loyalty to one organization. but why such loyalty? and why is it difficult for them to respect the BSCP (eventhough it is an authorized entity)?

for whatever argument an organization presents, one thing must always be top priority: Philippine Pool and it's players must be served and protected and not the organization's well-being. that is the role why an organization is formed. to serve and not to be served.

Roy Steffensen said:

IBP is the owner of the Eurotour - EPBF sanctions the Eurotour.

President of IBP, a private company based in Holland, is vice-president in EPBF. Vise-president in IBP is President in EPBF, and secretary of the WPA.

So, if the Eurotour makes profit, does the money go back to European pool, or it's owner? The owners of IBP would like to make profit, but at the same time the board of EPBF would like to make money so they could do more for pool in Europe. But who get's the money?

I don't like when people have so many hats to wear...

It's the same with Yen Makabenta and the 10 million pesos he got in sponsorship from the Government.

RAYA Sports got the 10 million pesos, but when Yen was talking to the government which hat did he use?

Would the government still give 10 million pesos to Yen if they knew it was a private company that would receive the money? Did they believe that Yen received the money on behalf of a governing body of a very popular sport? Which Yen were the government talking to, the Raya-Yen or the BSCP-Yen?

I smell a rat

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Ooops, there it is!