LIST OF PINOY AND FIL-AM NOTABLES IN OTHER SPORTS
o Benny Agbayani - Most famous as a New York Mets slugger. Benny Agbayani (born December 28, 1971) was a professional baseball player who played with the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies and Boston Red Sox. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii of Filipino parents, <more>
o Chris Aguila - Christopher Louis Aguila (born February 23, 1979 in Redwood City, California) is a Major League Baseball player in the New York Mets organization, who has played parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues with the Florida Marlins. He plays all three outfield positions. (Source - Wikipedia)
Aguila comes from a widely varied ethnic background. His father is Filipino, and his mother is Samoan, Tongan, and Fijian. As of 2006, Aguila and Tony Solaita are the only known ethnic Samoans who have played in Major League Baseball. <more>
o Bobby Balcena - Robert Rudolph Balcena (August 1, 1925 - January 4, 1990) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Cincinnati Reds in 1956. Balcena batted right-handed and threw left-handed. He was born in San Pedro, California.
Balcena became the first player of Filipino ancestry to appear in a major league game. He had a long distinguished Triple-A career with the Seattle Rainiers as a center fielder in the 1950s, and in Seattle is fondly remembered to this day. Balcena died in his hometown of San Pedro at the age of 74. <more>
o Bobby Chouinard - Robert William Chouinard (born May 1, 1972, in Manila, Philippines) is a retired Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Choinard played high school baseball at Forest Grove High School <more>
BASKETBALL
o Erik Celino Spoelstra (born November 1, 1970 in Evanston, Illinois) is the first ever Filipino head coach of the NBA's Miami Heat. From 2001 to 2008, he served as Assistant Coach/Director of Scouting <more>
BILLIARDS
o Jose "Amang" Parica - (born April 18, 1949) is a Filipino professional pool player from Manila, nicknamed "Amang" (Tagalog for "father") and "the Giant Killer." As a Philippine Hall of Famer, he pioneered the "Filipino invasion" in the United States, especially in the game of nine-ball. Also known as "the King" and "the Legend" in Philippine pool <more>
o EFREN "BATA" REYES - (born August 26, 1954) is a Filipino professional pool player from Angeles City and a 2-time world champion. Reyes is considered to be one of the all-time greats in the games of nine ball and one-pocket. He is often known by his nickname "Bata", and is also referred to as "The Magician"
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o Francisco Bustamante - (born December 29, 1963, Philippines) is a Filipino professional pocket billiards (pool) player from Tarlac, nicknamed "Django", after the lead character of the film of the same name[1], and sometimes also called "Bustie", especially in the United States. Bustamante has been playing since the age of ten, and has won titles such as the Munich Masters, The German Nine-ball Championship, and the Japan Nine-ball Championship, making him one of billiard's greatest international<more>
o Alejandro (Alex) Salvador Pagulayan - (born June 25, 1978) is a Filipino-Canadian professional pocket billiards (pool) player. His nicknames are "The Lion" and "The Killer Pixie". He was born in Cabagan, Isabela, Philippines and was raised in Toronto, Canada <more>
BOWLING
o Rafael "Paeng" Nepomuceno - (born January 30, 1957 in Manila) is a Filipino Ten-pin bowler bowler who has won the World Cup in bowling four times in three decades: * In Tehran, Iran on November 19, 1976 * In Jakarta, Indonesia on November 1, 1980 * In Le Mans, France on November 8, 1992 * In Belfast, Northern Ireland on November 23, 1996 <more>
o
CHESS
o Rogelio Antonio, Jr. - the Philippines 3rd Grandmaster and Balinas' student at the Philippine Grandmaster school of chess which Balinas established without the government's support.
As of early 2007, his elo rating was 2557, making him the 2nd ranked player in the Philippines and number 319 in the world.<more>
o Rosendo Balinas, Jr. (Sept. 10, 1941 -- Sept. 24, 1998) - Balinas' was granted the grandmaster title after his unexpected win during the 1976 Moscow Central Chess Club International Tournament in Odessa, USSR. Grandmaster Rosendo Balinas, Jr. was the Philippine's national treasure and unsung hero by his fans and faithful, an uncompromising lawyer who stood up for the ideals of fairness, and who promoted chess excellence and pride of the Filipino people, till his dying <more>
o Rodolfo Tan Cardoso - (born 25 December 1937). Cardoso was awarded the International Master in 1957 making him the first in Asia. In 1956, he won Philippine Junior Champioship. In 1957, he took 5th in Toronto (4th World Junior Championship); William Lombardy won). In 1957 the Pepsi-Cola company sponsored an 8-game match in New York between Cardoso, the 19-year-old Philippine Junior Champion, and Bobby Fischer, the 14-year-old U.S. Junior Champion. Cardoso won only one game and Fischer claimed the $325 victor's prize with a 6−2 score (+5 –1 =2)
o Jayson Gonzales - He earned his third and final grandmaster (GM) norm in the inaugural ASEAN Masters Chess Circuit in Tarakan City, East Kalimantan (Borneo) in January, 2008. Source, Cebu Daily News.
Darwin Laylo - Inspiring Precedent of GM Darwin Laylo and the challenging future Before Wesley So the Philippines actually produced a new grandmaster, two months ago during the Asian Individual Chess Championship in Cebu, Philippines. He is Darwin Laylo, born from a poor family in Manila (his father is a cycle rickshaw driver)
o Nelson Mariano - Philippine Grandmaster.
o Mark Paragua - (born March 29, 1984). He was the youngest Filipino master ever, at 9 years of age. He also became the youngest Filipino GM ever at 20**, beating out Eugene Torre's record by about two years. Paragua become the first super Grandmaster in Philippine history*after he placed second in the Asian Zonal 3.3 Chess Championships that ended Friday at the Stanford Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia <more>
Filipino grandmaster Mark Paragua finished at second spot in the recent 12th annual Bradley Open Chess Championship held from June 15 to 17 at the Hardford/Windsor Marriott Hotel in Windsor, Connecticut. According to Paragua's spokesman Michael Adarlo, the 23-year-old Filipino, considered as the Philippine's No.3 player with an ELO rating of 2,532, finished with a total of 4.0 points, with three wins and two draws after five < GMA NewsTV..more>
** Grandmaster Wesley So became the Philippine youngest grandmaster at age 14 in April, 2008.
* To be a Super Grandmaster, one must attain an ELO rating of 2600 or more.
o Wesley So - (born October 9, 1993) is a Filipino GM-titled chess player. He achieved the GM title at the age of 14 years, 1 month and 28 days. This puts him as the 7th youngest person to achieve the Grandmaster title in the history of chess.[1] Before becoming a Grandmaster, So had become the youngest Filipino International Master at the age of 12 years and 10 months. The previous youngest Filipino IM had been GM Mark Paragua at 14 years and 8 months <more>
o Eugene Torre - Asia's first ever grandmaster (born November 4, 1951). Torre has the distinction of being the first Asian player to earn the much coveted title of International Grandmaster. In a tournament in Manila in the 1976, Torre beat then reigning world chess champion Anatoly Karpov in a game that has become part of Filipino chess history.
o Buenaventura "Bong" Villamayor - Philippine Grandmaster.
FOOTBALL
o Roman Gabriel - Former Los Angeles Rams' Quarterback
GOLF
o Delasin
o Rosales
ICE DANCE, & FIGURE SKATING
o Tai Babilonia - Former World Ice Skating Champion
o Elizabeth Punzalan - U.S. Ice Dance Champion
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
o Dan Inosanto - Martial Arts Expert
SWIMMING AND DIVING
o Victoria "Vicky" Manalo Draves - U.S. Diving Champion, Olympic Medalist
TENNIS
o Cecil Mamiit - Pro Tennis Player.
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