World Ten Ball - Will the show go on? Will it be cancelled?

JB Cases said:
I wish the UPA would do this. That was their mandate. I don't have a dog in this hunt but it's going to be a pretty unusual tournament if it's in the Phillipines and the top Filipinos aren't there. It's also going to be embarrassing to the rest of the world if the Filipino 3rd string wins it.
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Your dog in this hunt is POOL and what's best for it. POOL without its practitioners cannot be POOL. Well, the practitioners here recieved the short end of the stick from a businessman who thought himself as the high-and-mighty of the sport here.

BMPAP<<< this dog bites when kicked.
 
Here's a read for you guys. As posted in Matchroomsportforums by sputnik dated Sept 01, 2008:

In other countries, Makabenta would have been executed by now. But in the Philippines, there is due process, and the Ombudsman (court to investigate corruption) would have rejected the petition outright if there was no substance.

The formation of a corporation by private individuals is subject to Philippine laws. Moreover, the acceptance of responsibility to handle the regulation and the development of an amateur sport (by beang a National Sport Association) in a national scale with Government money and mandate has to have moral and financial accountability. Fajardo must have had an oath-taking of sorts when BSCP was made the National Sport Association of Billiards back in the 80's.

But there is innocence until proven guilty in this country, and if Makabenta can prove that the money that he received from PAGCOR was not part of the 5% PAGCOR earnings allocated for the Philippine Sports Commission as mandated by law, then he may be off the hook.

What bothers me in Makabenta's reaction statement to the filing of the complaint is his claim to the #4 argument that according the the SWS survey among an ordinary citizen sampling, BSCP comes in 4th among all the NSAs in performance ranking. Whatever can be swiftly used for deception is now usual for Makabenta.

The respondents in the survey do not differentiate the boundaries of BSCP from the accomplishments and contributions by the non-BSCP sector of Philippine billiards. All of BMPAP's players who bring home world titles make BSCP look good. To this date, I have not seen an earth-moving sports development project of BSCP to improve the sport. All it did was to bring in WPC, and yet, there is no direct co-relation of these events in funding the sport or in developing pool in the grass-root levels. Claiming success from non-BSCP players' performances is consistent to Makabenta's boasting that he propelled Efren "Bata" Reyes to greatness because it did not cost Efren a single cent to be written about by then Journalist Makabenta.

These problems that Makabenta are having now greatly affect his WTBC project, which has just a few more days to fund the prize money. In business, the greater the risks, the greater the returns. Makabenta had chosen the riskier side, and all the risks were overlooked -- law suits and investigations included.

There was ample time to listen to and address the complaints from the players and managers. The complaint to the Ombudsman was actually predictable and the Makabenta could have averted at least the timing of it. In fact, I had predicted exactly this in this forum months ago.

If and when the WTBC does not push through, the people will have to see the poetic justice in it. While it is true that having a world championship franchise owned by a Filipino will make any countryman proud, the character of the owner will make a lot of difference because ultimately, it is no longer the national sport that is being represented in such franchise -- is now going to be the Philippines that is represented.

If the BMPAP will be blamed for the failure of WTBC (as in the theme of the latest Makabenta statement), so be it. It merely tells us that a project worthy of representing the country did not pass the litmus test of Democracy. BSCP had all the time to make amends, and not having the capacity to maintain the great majority of its then constituents (great players and the youth alike) gives them a failing mark.

All that was being asked of Makabenta was to step down as BSCP
Chairman and take the challenge (as President of Raya) to co-exist with BMPAP in a fair business competition. Thirty-three of the top players in Philippine pool signed a petition for Makabenta to step down from BSCP last month (only Dennis and Busta were not able to sign because they were abroad). A graceful exit with some negotiations would have solved things.

Had he done it, BMPAP players would have seen a less authoritarian BSCP and would have announced their participation in all BSCP events and who knows, even WTBC. Getting sponsors would have been more viable.

But no, and this only shows their emphasis in hanging on to PSC and WPA accreditation "powers". PSC and WPA accreditation cannot be the basis for everything, most especially when BSCP crosses the line from an amateur governing body of billiards to the ruthless world of free enterprise.

And, if by a miraculous twist, the BSCP/Raya partnership pulls through with WTBC, it will only tell us that they are worthy of being a contender in Philippine Sports unfair business playing field.
 
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Another interesting read from sputnik posted in Matchroomsportforums:

Posted - 06/09/2008 : 16:48:39

While BMPAP is still trying to work out a Manila WPC 2008, BSCP's WTBC is all set for September 29 to October 5. BMPAP is admittedly trying to come up with enough funding to buy the event after Matchroom Sports thought that WPC was in good hands for a third straight year in Manila. Unfortunately, by the time Raya Sports backed out, the eager Indonesian prospects thought that things were too late for 2008. Hence, BMPAP has been salvaging the situation, and there is still an air of optimism in purchasing a WPC 2008 from Matchroom Sports. That explains why BMPAP has been mum about the event.

On the WTBC side, it is surprising that the Raya people are mum about the event, despite its near debut of 23 days from this writing. All we see are statements from the WPA about the players that are all set for the event from all over the world. AZBilliards also announced that they are coming over to celebrate the event. The BSCP website is now down and the WTBC website still has its sponsors link under construction. It is puzzling that there have been no press releases about the WTBC in the Philippines in any of the newspapers and over the radio waves. There is really something strange going on with this kind of silence for such a big event. In a 3rd World country like the Philippines, $400,000 is truly a big deal for it not to be promoted this late.

Perhaps BSCP's National Open will give us a hint of what is really going on. In the thread "Philippines' 3rd National Pool Championship", the first link to Marlon Bernardino's report said that there was a whopping top prize of P400,000. In the same thread, the next news item of Bernardino said that a mere prestigious trophy awaits the winner. The money disappeared right before the event giving the impression that the organizers have no money.

In the same manner that Yen Makabenta became "Man of the Year" for bringing the WPC to Manila, calling-off the debut of the WTBC might make him "Goat of the Year". He has to come up with the prize money of $400,000 in 16 working days. The people have purchased their plane tickets and have cancelled prior engagements. Money has been spent for qualifiers and the whole world is now excited about it.

If the swift pulling out of the prize money in the National Pool Championship can be a basis for predicting the things to come, the $400,000 might likewise disappear just before the tournament. Word has it that as late as this last Wednesday, they were denied sponsorship by a second beer manufacturer.

I may be wrong, but the symptoms are just really giving the situation away. Makabenta has to come up with the tournament in order not to put to shame the "many stakeholders of the Philippine pool community such as players, promoters, managers, referees and coaches, billiards clubs, billiards manufacturers and distributors, pool hall owners, pool sponsors and fans."
 
bandido said:
Did you really think that, if San Miguel is a sponsor of this event, San Miguel will agree to that itsy-bitsy banner? What you see there my friend is gratis or a "make-up for deficiency" in a previous event or part of the smoke-and-mirrors!
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I know Bandido, hence the smiley.
 
JB Cases said:
LOL. Not any more says the wife. Manila is crossed off the list of places you can go.
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I'm still allowed to go to the Philippines.:thumbup: :p

As long as the wife comes with me...:embarrassed2:
 
Still only 1 bet...

Perry & Verna: It would be awesome to come to Philippines in December, but I don't know yet if it is possible for me. I will let you know. Thanks for the offer, much appreciated! Looks like it will be some fun weeks there, with the tournament + the challenge against "The World".

PS: Crossing my fingers for Gomez in the upcoming tournament in Dubai. Think he will bring it home!
 
Michael-Hoang said:
How will we be able to verify that all the players got paid? Most of us probably wouldn't know half of the players there. Therefore, I would be willing to bet that the event WILL HAPPEN.

If you are ok with this (that the bet is for the event WILL HAPPEN/WILL NOT HAPPEN only), I will take the other 4 shares of $20 each for a total of $80.

I am hoping that it will happen for the sake of pool. So I am willing to bet on this, even though you probably have better sources than most.
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No, the bet is like I said in my first post.

It's quite simple. Here on AZB we know a lot of the players, and many of the players who will be in Manila are actually members here on AZB, like for example Shane Van Boening, Darren Appleton, Nick van den Berg, Karl boyes etc..

I know many of the players going, and Jay will be there, and probably let us know if for example Shane or Johnny or another American doesn't get paid.

We all heard about the IPT World Open, didn't we?

To do it even more simple, let's say if we have NOT heard about players complaining after 2 weeks after the tournament, we assume they got paid, and I will lose the bet.

Still in for 20 $? (You can't get 4 shares, I will try to see if we can gather 5 people who actually believe everything is ok, and are willing to bet on it). As of now, I have 1 bet, and he doesn't even believe he will win the bet.
 
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gobrian77 said:
I'm still allowed to go to the Philippines.:thumbup: :p

As long as the wife comes with me...:embarrassed2:
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Lucky you :)

Verna & Perry: I don't even know if I am allowed to go to Philippines in December, or if I will have to go to Dubai instead :D :D
 
Elmer "Buddy" Kalaquian, former player of Bugsy Promotion, has reached the semifinal of the National Championship and is guaranteed a spot in the upcoming World Ten Ball Championship, together with Marlon Manalo. 2 other players will get spots too, most likely Jeff De Luna will be one of them.

"Buddy" is not among the best players in the Philippines, but he was still capable of destroy both Karl Boyes (7-1, 10-ball) and Johnny Fulcher (11-2, 9-ball) at One Side, in moneygames during World 9-ball Championship last year.

I know Buddy from my first visit to the Philippines, and he is a funny and friendly guy, and a very good player, so I backed him in these matches. (J. Fulcher, ranked at #1 in Europe by then, said to me: "This kid is amazing, he miss less than Efren". Johnny lost to Efren 11-4 just minutes before this match)

Buddy would be a good player if he competed on the Eurotour or other international tournaments, but in the Philippines he is just not good enough, if all the best players compete. He would probably never win a eurotour, but he would be able to finish high in many of them.

Nice to see that he won a spot, and I wish him good luck!
 
Let's go back to the thread question. Will WTBC push through? How many ways can Raya tell us that it is pushing though:

1] Press releases. They are not strangers to press releases as they have gathered newsmen for a less prestigious event in the past. Any Press statement or launching reverberates in the Internet. Twice, they scheduled press cons but they didn't push through.

2] Production of WTBC merchandise and the display of streamers.

3] Pay the necessary permits, licenses and documets, as Edwin mentioned.

4] TV appearances or TV/Radio commercials.

5] Announce to the tri-media all the sponsors.

6] When their integrity is questioned, JUST SHOW THE DARN MONEY so as not to inconvenience the people.

None of the above.
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This talk of sabotaging the WTBC was so predictable. If I had the money and I had a grand plan, nobody would be able to stop me from having a WTBC. But if I had only dollar signs in my head and a grand plan, perhaps I do not even need to be sabotaged, most especially if my arrogance deserves resistance. "Sabotage" is too comfortable an excuse to get away with a crime of passion (to make money).
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With the earlier comments about the upcoming December Philippines vs the rest of the World event, this is only for 2008. Perhaps next year, we can have a poll of who the people want to play in the "rest" team.
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Peter, yes, a failed WTBC may smear the Filipino, but everybody knows that the new BSCP guys are newcomers who want only to earn a fast buck. Everybody knows that Puyat has been in the pool scene since the 70's and he is now a proponent of BMPAP. Puyat will not even think about BMPAP if he thought that it was of no integrity. So far, BMPAP has delivered tournaments and the prize monies swiftly.

BMPAP is not a fly-by-night association, and it only announces when everything is in order.

If Raya fails to deliver WTBC, everybody will know that BMPAP is not like them. BSCP believes in politics. BMPAP believes in business. BMPAP had fought galantly against the politics of BSCP with well-planned, well-executed, and well-paid business projects.

There is life after this pending F***-Up!
 
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just wondering, let's say I am just a guy living in Manila who wants to watch this event.

Where can I buy tickets? What's the price for a daypass, the final - or for the whole week?

I guess spectators would be interesting in getting tickets for the final as soon as possible. But how?
 
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Roy Steffensen said:
just wondering, let's say I am just a guy living in Manila who wants to watch this event.

Where can I buy tickets? What's the price for a daypass - or for the whole week?
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That's another question in the pool community here in the Philippines that no one can answer since there isn't any information about ticket pricing in the WTBC site http://www.worldtenball.com/WTBC_EventDetails.html unlike in last years 2007 WPC's http://www.worldpoolchampionship.com/Tickets.htm and the 2006 WPC http://yen.chlopez.net/tickets.htm

Ticket sales announcement was 4 months before the 2007 event while it was 2 months before the 2006 event. It's now just 23 days before the WTBC and still no ticket pricing nor ticket sales outlets announced in the WTBC site.
 
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5arJzbZdB4

This commercial was sent on TV in Philippines before the World Championship 2007. Tickets could be bought on www.ticketnet.com.ph.

TicketNet doesn't sell tickets for the World Ten Ball Championship, and the local Filipinos haven't seen any commercials for the upcoming tournament.

Could be that ads and posters etc will be published this coming week, and that TicketNet will be offering tickets the coming days, after all, it is still more than 20 days till the event starts.
 
Bandido, you and I have communicated many times and I have the utmost respect for you.

But your reasons can be summarized as ...

1. It won't happen because Yen has still not made up with us and we will boycott.

2. It won't happen because we have not been shown the money in escrow.

3. It won't happen because the license that we are claiming is needed has not been acquired even when Yen is fighting the need to get that license.

4. It won't happen because we don't agree with how they do things.

Seems like those are all the same reason.

Mike

bandido said:
Here're our reasons why we think WTBC isn't going to happen.

1. BMPAP and BSCP/RAYA hasn't reached a resolution to the concerns that started the rift. Thus, our top Filipino Players that Corporate Philippines count on as the "Filipino-crowd Drawer", which is Corporate Philippines target market, won't be in attendance. And if they did somehow get to recruit support from local sponsors wouldn't we be expecting announcements of such. Not because that they, BSCP/RAYA, are known for flaunting their achievements but because of normal business practice that media values are expected in exchange for sponsorship funding. We don't even see any announcement in newspapers, on TV or radio nor banners along the highways and their own establishments that show these sponsors.

2. Since even their www.worldtenball.com still doesn't reflect any announcement regarding a sponsor that'll provide the prize money. Nor a have we recieved a notification from GAB that the prize money is in escrow.

3. RAYA hasn't, to my knowledge, acquired the proper Philippine Government Promoter's License. The WTBC event, to my knowledge, is not a legal event here in the Philippines without the proper Philippine Government event permit. There is an on-going Senate Hearing, that Makabenta requested, questioning the GAB's authority over all professional sports here in the Philippines. Is Makabenta going to swallow his pride and abide by Philippine Laws by applying for the proper government license and event permit from GAB.

4. We don't agree with how they operate. How can Yen publicly cut-down Matchroom's format, 9-Ball (see his article in AzB homePage), when they're suppose to be allies under one roof, the WPA? What nerve has he that he waited to the last minute to inform Matchroom that he isn't taking his 3rd year option of holding the WPC here? Should he instead be helping Matchroom and thus consequently be helping the sport?

I think all the above are valid concerns to base our opinion on.
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Roy, I am already betting the cost of airfare. I have a non-refundable airplane ticket to the event.

Mike

Roy Steffensen said:
But what do YOU think? Do you think everything will be just like announced? If so, you can earn the easiest 20 $ you ever made ;)

Do we have a bet?
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Boy, it sure is a good thing that the game of professional pool is so strong that it can withstand all of the infighting going on amongst it's members.

If the game were struggling instead of doing so well, all of the fighting in the Philippines and also here in the states might really harm the game itself.

But thankfully, the game is doing great all over the world and all of it's top players are raking in the dough.

Oh, wait a minute. It isn't.

Mike
 
AzHousePro said:
Bandido, you and I have communicated many times and I have the utmost respect for you.

But your reasons can be summarized as ...

1. It won't happen because Yen has still not made up with us and we will boycott.

2. It won't happen because we have not been shown the money in escrow.

3. It won't happen because the license that we are claiming is needed has not been acquired even when Yen is fighting the need to get that license.

4. It won't happen because we don't agree with how they do things.

Seems like those are all the same reason.

Mike
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Let me clear it up for you.

1. This is about the complaint of "conflict of interest" for ONE. Represent as BSCP and pocket as RAYA. Projects here involving government funds require a bidding before its awarded to a private entity. From what I understand, this is being looked into by the Ombudsman. Second part of this, as has been stated in this forum a number of times, is his unfair treatment of players for which he has a lawsuit against by Alex Pagulayan and more to come from othwer players because of the Ginness Qualifier issue. Lawsuits Mike so these aren't just make-believe grievances. The players want him out of BSCP because of the above among others. They, the players, make their own decision when it comes to participation in tournaments. As evidenced by their non-participation in the just concluded National Open. This eventuallity of making a decision to or not to join a tournament happens all over the world for whatever reason a particular player has. So if the top players here decided not to because of, amongst others, the reasons stated above then they have every right to that decision. BSCP being an NSA has a responsibility to the country and the participants and their loosing constituents reflect badly on them.

2. Show me a player who'll fork out his/her entry fee and not want to know where the prize money is coming from or kept.

3. Yen is fighting the law of the land and the process is on-going so until a judgement is laid down the law still applies. You can't just have the citizenry in limbo while a law is still being contested right? They haven't even pinned down what exactly he is contesting to start hearing his contention for whatever he is contesting. Personally, I still consider that a nuisance complaint. Unlike the players complaints against him, where a lawsuit has been filed on a defined complaint (libel), they're just at hearing on the term definition of the word "games" and "sport" to determine if Yen's complaint has merit. So PD 871 still applies.

There already is a precedent, too, since Yen did acquire a Promoter's license from GAB and an event permit for his 2006 WPC. What then is the problem now in acquiring these?

4. Wouldn't you voice out against a supposed leadership if there were evidences to his improprieties?

So does the above look like all the same reason? In a way they all point out to his need to get out of the NSA or BSCP. He cannot use its powers of affiliation to financially benefit his personal corporation, RAYA.
 
i'm a local here in the Philippines, i have not heard, seen nor read any announcement, details, sponsorships, ticket sales about the WTBC.

I really doubt that it will happen, but if it pushes thru, goodluck to all the players whou would claim their prize money.
 
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