National Billiards League Finds Top Venue For Launch

The National Billiards League (NBL) has found a home for its much-awaited inaugural season next year.
 
The AMF-Puyat Bowling Inn and Billiards in Malate, Manila is undergoing a P2.5-million (just over $50,000) renovation to make it a state-of-the-art venue for the world's first season-long professional league.
 
Located along Taft Avenue , between Quirino and Remedios, Bowling Inn, as it is popularly known, will have what could be regarded as an astonishing and lively set-up. The organizers of the league want it to be more than just a plain billiards competition but one that also provides fascinating entertainment.
 
“The NBL is definitely a go,” said Philippine pool godfather Aristeo “Putch” Puyat. “We may have failed to meet our initial target date to start it because we want to make sure that we'll cover all the bases before we launch it. But there's really no turning back.”
 
Puyat added “In fact all of us, especially the players, are all excited to begin this new era of Philippine billiards.”.
 
The NBL is a brainchild of Puyat, which he conceived almost a decade ago while staging and producing several top class tournaments in cooperation with TV partners Viva Vintage Sports.
 
It is now nearing realization thanks to the support of fellow billiards patrons Perry Mariano of Bugsy Promotions and Jonathan Sy of the Negros Billiards Stable and the rest of the members of Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines.

According to Mariano, the next step will be distribution of players to the participating corporate teams which will be done through a draft scheduled for the first week of January.
 
“There will be eight teams with six players each, so a total of 48 players, not counting the reserves, will have a regular income. That would make billiards really a professional sport,” said Mariano.
 
“As I've said before, the NBL will be the next big thing in Philippine sports entertainment,” added Mariano.
 
Patterned after the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), the NBL will have the country's top cue artists, led by billiards legend Efren “Bata” Reyes, bosom buddy and former World No. 1 Francisco "Django" Bustamante, fellow former world champions Ronnie Alcano and Alex Pagulayan and current world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, along with a bunch of up and coming stars playing for corporate teams in a season-long team competition.
 
Solar Sports which this season began its coverage of the PBA Games as well as the PBL and the world's premier league the NBA will be the league's broadcast partner