POC okays elections of 'troubled' billiards and snooker body

MANILA, Philippines - A solution to the current billiards mess is forthcoming. This as the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) executive board on Monday gave the problematic Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) the go-signal to proceed with its elections on March 31. The POC board also ruled that the same participants in the BSCP’s last elections some eight years ago would be allowed to vote in the new proceeding set at the Chateau in Valle Verde in Pasig City. “The BSCP had not held its election I think for the past eight years. So the voters who joined the last election are the only individuals allowed to vote on March 31," explained POC spokesman Joey Romasanta. The POC has assigned tennis’ Buddy Andrada to represent the Olympic body in the BSCP polls. The BSCP row carried over from last year when a disgruntled group that included nine members of the board sought the ouster of Fajardo and chairman Yen Macabenta and submitted a petition for election to the POC. Fajardo had sought to add new members to the list of voters but the POC thumbed down the request and approved only the original list. Fajardo’s additions, the POC said, do not comply with the BSCP’s own Constitution and By Laws requiring officials to belong to a club with at least 25 members. The POC has decided to take action on the billiards row to avert the possibility of getting the country's finest cue artists banned from tournaments sanctioned by the World Pool Association (WPA). The WPA, the world governing body for the sport, has already warned that players who are not recognized by their affiliate National Sports Association (NSA), in this case the BSCP, will not be allowed to take part in the tournaments like the Laos Southeast Asian Games in December. Big names like Efren "Bata" Reyes, Ronato Alcano, Alex Pagulayan and Francisco Bustamante as well as women’s aces Irish Ranola and Rubilen Amit, have already bolted out of BSCP and sided with the rival group Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines. (BMPAP) –GMANews.TV