COMMENTARY

Give me a break
By: Frank Lacambra

Sometime ago, we asked: Are Filipino billiards players losing their touch? Or, have foreign players raised their game a notch or two?

We asked the question because of what has befallen Filipino pool masters lately. In the 2007 Guinness 9-Ball Asian Tour, which ended in early September, Filipinos failed to win a single leg out of five legs. That was a big letdown, considering that we sent a very strong contingent, including Ronnie Alcano, the current World Pool Championship title-holder; Alex Pagulayan, the 2004 WPC champion, and Lee Vann Corteza, the 2007 Philippine champion.

In the World Cup of Pool, which was held in the Netherlands just a few weeks ago, the defending champions Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante of the Philippines were heavily favored by many to retain their title without any trouble. But things didn’t turn out that way. Bata and Django were ambushed in the quarterfinals and eliminated.

And who beat them? An unheralded duo from China, who according to some wags, were never given a Chinaman’s chance to go very far, given the formidable teams from Europe, the US and Chinese Taipei. Li Hewen and Fu Jianbo are far from being household words among billiards fans, but they will soon be if they keep playing the way they booted out the Filipino legends.

We hope the beatings that the Filipinos got recently is just a temporary setback and that there is nothing to worry about.

But Filipino billiards fans are understandably concerned. To many of them the “losing streak” by the Philippines’ top players seems to be telling us something. Are our players losing their spirit?

Are the disappointing results a symptom of the problems that have bugged the Filipino billiards establishment lately? Is it a question of attitude or motivation? Or, as suggested by some, is it a question of leadership? Is it time for our billiards leaders to do some soul-searching and make much-needed moves to get Philippine billiards back to its winning ways?

What do you think?