Pagulayan contests his ouster
by Recah Trinidad
MANILA, Philippines -- Bob Guerrero, premier pool commentator, asked if Alex Pagulayan had been properly warned about his conduct before he was scratched out of the Guinness Pool Tour.
Guerrero posed the question the day after a statement from the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) on the Pagulayan case was printed in this column.
We asked BSCP chair Yen Makabenta if Pagulayan had indeed received prior warning before he was junked.
Said Makabenta: “
He was, but his attitude was the country needs him more than he needs us. So there.”
Soon there came text messages that made Pagulayan appear odd and irresponsible.
Predictably, we received an explanation from Pagulayan himself, faxed from the office of Puyat Sports, over the weekend.
We are able to present Pagulayan’s side only now:
Dear Mr. Trinidad,
Please allow me to answer the unfair and unfounded accusations hurled upon me by the officials of the BSCP that have permanently damaged the reputation I built over the years.
1. I gave my best in the Singapore leg of the Guinness 9-Ball tour hoping to win honors for our country. In my semifinal match against Ibrahim Bin Amir of Malaysia, I suffered a series of bad cue ball situations and, as I always do, talked to myself, to which the crowd responded with laughter -- appreciatively, I would humbly say. In one situation where I could not make a clear shot, I still remember saying to myself something to the effect, “Who says this game is easy,” which evoked laughter from the gallery.
I kept talking to myself as I always do in most of my tight matches. Talking to oneself or even talking to the gallery is done by so many top players in international events and is not considered a misconduct.
I talked to myself to calm my nerves for which I did not get any warning or reprimand from the referee and neither from the organizers during and after the event.
My opponent, Ibrahin Bin Amir, did not lodge any complaint about any attempt on my part to shark or distract him.
Modestly speaking, I am of the belief that the gallery was amused seeing and hearing me make comments about my play, which was not going too well. BSCP president Mr. Ernesto Fajardo, who was there, called me after the match but did not call my attention to any misconduct. If I was out of line … he should have reprimanded me and I would have accepted what he had to say.
2. When I reached Manila, the BSCP made announcements of the Philippine lineup for the Shanghai leg and my name was not on the list and so with that of Lee Van Corteza. Many quarters, including some sportswriters, were asking why myself and Corteza were dropped when we had accumulated the highest points next to Ronnie Alcano and had the best chances of accumulating enough points to enter the championship round. After a few days, Corteza and myself were informed that we would be in the Philippine lineup for the Shanghai.
On this basis, I prepared myself for the Shanghai leg and did not accept offers to play in some billiard events and exhibitions.
3. The report quoting me as saying there was a meeting between BSCP chair Yen Makabenta and myself is incorrect. However, on Wednesday, July 18, Mr. Yen Makabenta called me by phone proposing that I join a 3-month TV Billiard program he was launching. I told him then that committing myself for three months might be difficult on account of my other engagements. I also asked about the terms of compensation he can offer to which he did not give any answer. We did not arrive at any agreement during that call, neither did he mention anything about any misconduct in the Singapore event. He proposed to meet the next day, Thursday, to discuss the subject further but I could not accede due to prior commitments. That was the last talk I had with Mr. Makabenta.
4. I was in Cebu last July 28 playing in the Sun Star event when I received calls from friends inquiring if I knew that I was dropped from the Philippine lineup for Shanghai allegedly due to serious misconduct in the Singapore leg. This was the first time I learned of that accusation. Meantime, a text brigade sent messages likening me to a clown and even a cross between a chimpanzee and orangutan, accusing me of serious misconduct unworthy of being a pool player representing our country. The messages came from cell phone number 09158309257/58.
The chair and president of BSCP talked to me after the event and they did not bring up the matter with me.
5. The BSCP calls me ungrateful for winning P1 million in the event in their billiards program. I was invited to these events and I gave my time, effort and skills from years of practice to help make it a really good event.
While I accept and do not dispute their authority to select those who will play in the Guinness 9-ball, I submit that BSCP officials do not have the right to tarnish and destroy the reputation of billiard players based only on their own whimsical judgments and neither do they have the right to use the National Sports Association to coerce players to play in their ventures. I hope that they will always follow the time-honored principle of giving an accused his day in court even if he is just a humble billiards player.
Sincerely yours,
Alex Pagulayan
Alex Pagulayan hits back on ousting him on RP pool roster
Originally Posted by yokam
Reply With Quote
Posting Permissions
