THE Billiards and Snooker Association of Fiji (BSAF) hopes to select the best players to represent the nation at the proposed inaugural Pacific Series once the international borders open.
The Pacific Series has been mooted to further develop cue sport in the region with more international fixtures.
Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga and Samoa are expected to be part of the series. BSAF president Praneel Singh has welcomed the move saying it will lift the standard of the sport in the country.
Singh said the Pacific Series could lay the foundation for billiards and snooker to be included as an optional sport for the 2027 Pacific Games.
“The Asia Pacific Billiards and Snooker Association is expected to hold its annual general meeting this month where the Pacific Series will be one of the key items on the agenda,” he said.
“With regular competitions we hope to produce many more players like our former champion Deepak Lal Bala who hails from Rakiraki but is now based in Auckland making a name for himself on the New Zealand circuit.”
Bala is ranked number three in New Zealand. He is the only Fijian player to ever win the New Zealand Open Championship in its 74 year history. Bala achieved this in 2018 defeating Shannon Swain 6-5 in the final.
He holds the highest break record of 94 points in the BSAF National Ranking Championship.
