Pool Heaven

I was starstruck at the recent Negros Oriental International 9-ball tournament held at the convention center. Among the participants were Filipino cue artists Efren "Bata" Reyes, Django Bustamante, Ronnie Alcano, Alex Pagulayan and foreign pool players like Ralf Souquet, Johnny Archer, Corey Deuel, Mika Immonen, Thorsten Hohmann, and a lot more. They basically are the who's who of pool. As a matter of fact, the participants included nine former 9-ball world champions (Ralf Souquet - 1996, Johnny Archer - 1997, Kunihiko Takahashi - 1998, Efren Reyes - 1999, Mika Immonen - 2001, Thorsten Hohmann - 2003, Alex Pagulayan - 2004, Wu Chia-Ching - 2005, and Ronato Alcano - 2006.) Most of them participated in the World Pool Championship 2007 in Manila last week, and apparently, they headed straight to Dumaguete!

How big an event was it? Think of it this way. If this were basketball, the names would be legends like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain and current superstars Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. Wow!

While pool is not even close to how popular basketball is globally, Efren is considered by many as the Michael Jordan of pool. Just like Jordan transcended the game of basketball, Efren Reyes, too, transcended pool.

I've seen Efren Reyes already (back in 2005). So, the whole event was seeing all the other pool superstars, especially the foreign ones. Who would have thought the likes of Johnny Archer and Ralf Souquet would come to Dumaguete? Even more, who would have thought I'd be rubbing shoulders with them.

For many non-pool fans, they probably never knew the event existed. But for pool followers like me, it was like being part of an NBA All-Star Weekend. Among the sideshows were seeing the pool superstars walk down the boulevard and downtown, watching Django, Pagulayan, and Dennis Orcullo play poker at Honeycomb, and last year's World Champion Alcano beating local players in money games at local pool houses and then treating everyone who were watching with 'balot' (the lucky balot vendor sold out all his goods).

On my part, what I did was to print photos of the most popular pool players (in a trading-card design) with their name, monicker, country with their flag, and biggest achievement, and having each of them sign on it.


Eventually, I was able to get all the big names who were there to sign on their own personalized photo: Johnny Archer, Francisco Bustamante, Dennis Orcullo, Ronato Alcano, Alex Pagulayan, Warren Kiamco, Roberto Gomez, Yang Ching-Shun, Kunihiko Takahashi, Corey Deuel, Mika Immonen, Thorsten Hohmann, Efren Reyes, Ralf Souquet, Wu Chia Ching, Rodolfo Luat, and Lee Van Corteza.



The only noticeable stars who did not take part in the event were Earl Strickland and Fong Pang-Chao.

By the way, Alex Pagulayan eventually won the event, with a prize of $20,000. Here's Alex behind the scenes rapping:

Let the games begin!

This week is the start of two major sports events (at least for me) - the NBA 2007-08 Season and the World Pool Championship.

NBA

The most obvious change in the NBA for this season is the Boston Celtics, after acquiring all-stars Kevin Garnett (from the T'wolves) and Ray Allen (from the Sonics) in the off-season. This would give the Celtics the NBA's best trio - Garnett, Allen, and Paul Pierce. Even better than the defending champs San Antonio Spurs' trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. It is therefore clear that the Celtics will be one of the contending teams this season. The only question is how the big three would jell and what their supporting cast would look like (I still expect more acquisitions before the season is over). The good thing about them is that they're all professionals and first-class individuals in the mold of Duncan. It is for this reason that I believe they would be a force in the Eastern Conference, even surpassing Detroit Pistons (which will be as consistent as last year) as the East's best team. Considering the quality and competition among the Western conference teams, it would be no surprise if the Celtics ended up with the league's best regular season record.

Aside from the Celtics and the Pistons, the other teams to look out for are the defending East champs Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic. Cavs superstar Lebron James will continue to improve. He will be an MVP candidate and will continue to carry his team. However, a repeat of last year's finals appearance is highly unlikely. Even reaching the East finals is difficult, as they have to hurdle both the Celtics and Pistons.

For the Magic, a new coach in Stan Van Gundy will help them to become one of the East's elite teams. I believe they are the East's dark horse. I expect Hedo Turkoglu to improve tremendously (probably this year's most improved player). Adding versatile forward Rashard Lewis to the mix would only do wonders to Dwight Howard (another MVP candidate), who would be the undisputed East's best big man.

The West is a different story. Practically every team, with the exception of Seattle and Memphis, could make it to the playoffs. Moreover, there are around 9 teams (yup, even one more than the number of teams that would qualify for the playoffs) which could be number 1 -- the Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, and Denver Nuggets.

The biggest surprise to me would be the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Hornets. I believe Houston will be great this year, after hiring former Sacramento Kings coach Rick Adelman and acquiring Argentine Luis Scola. I think Adelman is the perfect coach for the Rockets. I hope he would implement the system which made the Kings one of the best teams in the west for several years. Yao Ming has big-man passing skills similar to the Kings' Vlade Divac. Scola, I presume, would be, like most foreign stars, would be fundamentally sound and an effective scorer and passer from the post. Shane Battier, the ultimate role player, will continue to hit threes and play terrific defense. And of course, there's Tracy McGrady, who could take over any game. The fate of this team would eventually depend on the health of both Yao and McGrady. If this dynamic duo could go healthy the whole season, then I'm pretty sure they'd sit atop the West.

The New Orleans Hornets will be the most improved team in the West. They almost made it to the playoffs last year. This year will even be better for them. Sensational point guard Chris Paul will have MVP-type numbers. He would be what Steve Nash is to the Phoenix Suns. David West will also improve, probably enough to make the West All-star team (considering the fact that the game will be played in New Orleans). Tyson Chandler will be a Marcus Camby type of presence in the paint. Peja Stojakovic, if healthy, is still one of the league's best shooters. The addition of Morris Petersen would give some veteran leadership to the team. Finally, I believe coach Byron Scott is perfect for a team with a great point guard like Chris Paul, just like what happened in New Jersey with Jason Kidd a few years ago.

Overall, it's still a toss-up who will come on top in the West. Nevertheless, I believe it will be between the Spurs and the Suns.

World Pool Championship

Once again, the most prestigious international 9-ball event will be held here in the Philippines. While many Filipino pool players, especially the lesser-established ones, will benefit due to the location, the opportunity of more qualifying tournaments, and of course the comforts of being home, playing before your kabababayans also has its own disadvantage. Clearly, the most obvious one is the pressure. Every Filipino expects their Pinoy pool idols to win. While the latter have all the skills and talent to be crowned champion, dealing with pressure not only within oneself but also from the local fans is a different story. Even legends like Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante admit that they feel the pressure playing in the Philippines. If these two world-beaters are human after all when it comes to dealing with pressure, how much more would it affect the lesser-known players such as the likes of Ramil Gallego, Roberto Gomez, and Joven Bustamante.

Last year, our very own Ronnie Alcano was fortunate to win the event. Though Alcano was already an accomplished pool player in the US pool circles, there were many Filipinos who did not know much about him - until he won, of course. He showed great composure in sticking to his gameplan - executing the "soft break" to perfection. Not only was he extremely talented, but he was also cool under pressure.

This year, I'm hoping another Filipino will win the event. I wish Django would win it (he was soooo close in 2002) coz I believe that's what is missing in his resume. However, I also believe many other Filipinos like Dennis Orcullo and Marlon Manalo would do well. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if an unknown Filipino would win it all. Again, the only problem I could foresee is how they would handle the pressure.