INQUIRER Sports

THE COUNTRY?S RIVALS IN THE BILLIARDS competitions of the 21st Southeast Asian Games in Laos have good reasons to cower in fear. Why?

It?s because the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines has named a ?Dream Team? led by four former world champions to the biennial meet which starts on Dec. 6 in Vientiane. They are:

Efren ?Bata? Reyes, who won the prestigious World Pool 9-Ball Championship in 1999 in Cardiff, Wales;

Ronnie Alcano, a double world champion who bagged the 2006 World Pool 9-Ball Championship and 2007 World 8-ball titles;

Alex Pagulayan, winner of the 2004 World Pool 9-Ball Championship, and;

Rubilen Amit, who topped the 2009 Women?s World 10-Ball Championship held last June 6 at SM North Edsa in Quezon City.

?Bata Reyes and Django (Francisco Bustamante) have always been a much-feared combination in any billiards event,? said their longtime manager Rollie Vicente. ?They are not only feared, but they also attract a lot of attention.?

Now 55, Reyes previously won SEA Games gold medals in Jakarta in 1987 and Brunei in 1999, while Bustamante?10 years younger than Bata?pocketed a gold in the 2002 Busan Asian Games.

The tandem will be teaming up anew in this year?s PartyCasino.net World Cup of Pool starting Sept. 1 at SM North Edsa.

The Filipino pair won the inaugural tournament in Newport, Wales, in 2006.

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Known as the ?Magician? in pool circles, Reyes reiterated in a recent TV interview that he is not yet retiring, even though he is 55, an age widely considered by many as ?too old for an athlete.?

?Hindi pa ako laos (I?m not over the hill),? stressed Reyes, a native of Angeles City, adding that he has always been focused on winning tournaments.

Besides Reyes, Alcano, Pagulayan and Bustamante, the BSCP has other world-class players like former world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo and Roberto Gomez. The others are Lee Van Corteza, Gandy Valle, Warren Kiamco, Ramil Gallego and beanpole Rodolfo Luat.

For this year?s SEA Games, the BSCP has assembled the country?s strongest ever billiards team for any international tournament. However, these players, however successful, must not rest on their laurels.

?These players cannot be at the top forever,? said BSCP chair Aristeo ?Putch? Puyat. ?We must realize this and be prepared. If at all, this international glory should serve to further fan their competitive flame and preserve our place of honor in world pool.?

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I beg to disagree with Miami Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra when he said: ?There?s a lot of potential here and it?s one of three countries in the world where basketball is the number one sport. With a country like this, why not shock the world??

Dream big, anything can happen, added Spoelstra, who was born to a Filipino mother from San Pablo City.

But as far as many fans are concerned, such a dream is impossible to achieve. The campaign to make it to next year?s World Basketball Championship in Turkey and the 2012 Olympic Games in London is not within our capacity.

The Philippines should only take part in lesser tournaments like the regional SEA Games or Seaba championship. Local basketball officials should know that our foreign opponents have improved a lot because they are now much taller, heftier and faster.

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My family and I are wishing my kumpadre and longtime friend, Gus Villanueva, a blessed Happy Birthday. Now editor in chief of the Journal Group of Publications, Gus will be marking another milestone tomorrow, Aug. 4.