Philippines' Carlo Biado in the 2024 Reyes Cup. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA -- The country's top cue artists will not be seeing action in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games despite their success in various international tournaments.
Filipino pool icon Francisco "Django" Bustamante said the Philippines will not be sending its powerhouse roster of cue artists at the regional showcase due to restrictions by host Thailand.
"Kasi ang host ang Thailand. Ang Thailand ang laro nila puro snooker. Inalis nila yung pool," he told reporters on the sidelines of the 2025 Reyes Cup on Sunday.
READ: Team Asia dominates Team Rest of the World to retain Reyes Cup title
Team Philippines chef de mission to the 2025 SEA Games Dr. Raul Canlas confirmed the development to ABS-CBN News.
"Wala silang panalo sa pool. Kasi sila yung panalo sa SEA Games so kaya hindi kami pupunta roon. Kaya yung pupunta lang roon yung mga snooker player natin," Bustamante said.
The exclusion of pool in cue sports events sidelines the country's stars like Efren "Bata" Reyes, two-time World Pool Champion Carlo Biado, 2021 SEA Games Gold Medalist Johann Chua, as well as Word Pool Champions Chezka Centeno and Rubilen Amit.
The country has been a dominant force in the 8-Ball, 9-Ball and 10-Ball pool competitions, both in men's and women's division, in the regional meet over the years.
In the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi, Biado captured gold in the 10-Ball singles tournament, while Chua struck gold in the 9-Ball singles.
Over in the women's division, Centeno (2015 and 2017) and Amit (2019 and 2021) have won the last four gold medals in the 9-Ball, facing off three times in the finals.
Amit was the most recent winner of the 10-Ball crown in 2021, while Centeno captured gold in the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines.
Snooker and pool have key differences including rules, table size, pocket size and number and color of balls. These distinctions require a different set of skills from players, which pose a challenge even to veteran competitors.
The Philippines won in snooker at the regional showcase in the past.
Most recently, Jeffrey Roda captured silver for 6-Red Singles in 2021. He also won silver with Alvin Barbero for Snooker Doubles in 2019.