What’s a woman’s place in a male-dominated sport?
She’s a trailblazer–one who challenges the norms of the society and shows the world that women can also excel in a man’s world.
GMA Entertainment Group sets out to prove that women can rise to the top and become champions with hard work, skill, and pure talent in its newest primetime series, Bolera.
Starring multi-talented Kapuso actress Kylie Padilla in her much-awaited showbiz comeback, she steps into the role of Joni, a billiard prodigy who is gifted with visual and spatial intelligence.
“I’m so happy na ito yung naging comeback show ko kahit hindi ako marunong mag-billiards. Nung sinabi sa akin na kaliwete si Joni, I took the challenge, I said okay, let’s go, let’s try. Mahirap siya nung una kasi I’m a right-handed person. I took everything into account, I trusted na kaya natin ‘to. Nung pinapanood ko naman ang ganda! Thank you everyone for helping me to get the character right, to get the form right. Sobrang saya ko! I’m so proud of this show talaga.” says Kylie.
At a young age, Joni was taught to play the sport by her father who was a former billiard champion. After being accused of cheating, her father’s career ended but it never hindered her from learning and becoming a master herself. But when her father died, it was up to her to support her family; playing billiards was suddenly the last thing on her mind.
But dreams have a way of catching up with us, and Joni suddenly finds herself returning to the sport she first fell in love with. Now older and wiser, she meets stronger opponents and faces bigger problems rooted in circumstances that happened to her family years ago. And with every fall, she stands up taller and comes back stronger. She is determined to win, and will do everything to do just that.
Joining Kylie in the series are two of the Network’s brightest stars.
Rayver Cruz takes the role of Miguel, a handsome and competitive billiard prodigy who will eventually become Joni’s opponent; and Jak Roberto is Toypits, Joni’s neighbor and childhood friend who has always had feelings for her.
Making the series more interesting is a stellar roster of artists composed of Gardo Versoza as Marco “Cobrador” Santos, a billiard master who has no qualms resorting to underhanded tactics just to win; Joey Marquez as Freddie Roldan, a seemingly grumpy man who will become Joni’s mentor in the sport; Al Tantay as Joma, Joni’s father and a former billiard champion; and Ms. Jaclyn Jose as Tessa Fajardo, Joni’s loving mother who will do anything for her family.
Also starring in this original series are Via Veloso as Marla, the owner of the billiard bar that Joni works at; Sue Prado as Roma, Toypit’s mother who will unravel a dark secret; David Remo as Tres, Joni’s supportive brother; Ge Villamil as Kikay, Tessa’s close friend; Luri Nalus as Pogi, Cobrador’s sidekick.
Bolera is proudly presented by an outstanding team lead by GMA Entertainment Group SVP Lilybeth G. Rasonable; VP for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy; AVP for Drama Helen Rose Sese; Program Manager Dennis Joi K. Bentulan; Executive Producer Arlene D. Pilapil.
The series would not be possible if not for the creative minds of Creative Director Aloy Adlawan; Content Development Consultant Ricky Lee; Creative Consultant Denoy Punio; Head Writer Des Garbes-Severino; Concept Creator J-Mee Katanyag; Writers Benson Logronio, Nehemiarey Dallego, J-Mee Katanyag; Brainstormer Louize Al-Shehri.
All scenes, creative processes, and executions for the series are with the guidance of Ms. Rubilen Amit, Bolera’s Script Consultant and Johann Chua and Geona Gregorio, Game Consultants and trainors of Kylie Padilla.
Bolera is under the helm of esteemed directors Dominic Zapata and Jorron Lee Monroy.