posted by Nk. at 8:54 PM

wow ang galing talaga ng Pinoy!

in the February 2007 Issue of the billiards' "bible" Billiards Digest, pinoy billiard players dominated the magazine's honor roll. in the magazine's 11th annual BD Awards, Efren "bata" Reyes was named Most Outstanding Performance (Men), Ronnie Alcano was Most Improved Player (Men), and Dennis Orcollo was cited as Breakout Player of the Year (Men).


Businessman and Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) chairman Yen Makabenta was also named Man of the Year for leading the "staging of pro events, starting a national billiard academy to develop new players, and creating an official ranking system". considering the philippine government's almost non-existent support system in the area of sports (except for the proverbial photo ops with the powers that be when athletes bring titles home with them), this is quite a feat.

BD's Year's Biggest Story also went to the country:

"The Philippines Rules Pool. Yes, we all knew that the Philippines produced more than its fair share of world class players. But in 2006, the "Philippine Invasion" turned into a full-on Occupation. In addition to established names like Reyes, Bustamante, and Pagulayan, players such as Danny Orcollo, Ronnie Alcano, Marlon Manalo and Rodolfo Luat terrorized the men's circuit. Consider this: there was at least one Filipino in the final of the five richest events of the year, and three were won by Filipinos. At the IPT North American Open, there were seven Filipinos left in the final 18, although the country's contingent accounted for a mere 6-percent of the 200-player field. Even more frightening, the notoriously freewheeling country recently began a push to organize and train players, bringing to light a whole new wave of talents who were on display at this year's World Pool Championship in manila. that the WPD will likely remain on the island nation for 2007 in so comfort to the rest of the globe."

wohow. we occasionally get off our lazy asses and decide to do something and the world gets scaaared. just think if we decided to do really good. as a nation you know? oh, the possibilities!

my favorite part of the BD article was the one about Ralf Souquet, who lost to Ronnie Alcano in the final of the WPC -- i actually watched the finals live on TV and felt really proud of being pinoy when the Filipinos started to cheer Souquet's name after he became emotional while being interviewed by anthony suntay after the game. for that, BD named Manila the CLASSIEST CROWD OF THE YEAR. here's the part:

"After Ralf Souquet lost to Ronnie Alcano in the final of the WPC, the usually level-headed German couldn't contain his disappointment and frustration during a tableside interview and broke down. The Filipino crowd, which numbered more than 1,000, spontaneously began chanting "Sou-quet! Sou-quet!" and applauding until he lifted his head and waved. It was a genuine exchange of respect and gratitude that no one will soon forget."

still, there's nothing, and no one, like the Filipino. Astig ka pa rin Pinoy!


O.T. ito, isang pang astig na pinoy! Suzanne Llanera of Animal Kingdom Foundation: rescues and gives refuge to stray dogs/dogs out to be clobbered to death for some people's perverted meals. would love to volunteer in your facility one of these days ma'am.