THE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) will adopt the orphaned national pool players after the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sport (ACBS) suspended the Billiards Sports Confederation of the Philippines (BSCP)for a maximum of three months.
The POC, however, will need the Philippine Sports Commission’s nod in order for the sport’s national squad to continue to receive financial support from the government despite the suspension.
“With this decision, the POC shall temporarily assume the tasks of the BSCP, including the supervision of arrangements and entitlements for national athletes under Billiard Sports, during the period of suspension,” said POC Secretary-General Wharton Chan in a statement on Tuesday.
The Qatar-based ACBS had actually decided to sack the BSCP for “not exceeding three months” as early as Feb. 18 but it was only last Sunday that ACBS Secretary-General Michael Al-Khoury informed the POC about it.
In that letter, the discipline’s Asian governing body asked the POC to probe into alleged violations of the BSCP including conflicts of interest, failure to hold elections for a long time, organizing tournaments without the necessary approvals from either the former or the world governing bodies of the sport and neglect of the national pool players. — Joey Villar
