A sport where age is not a factor

In my view, billiards is one sport where age does not matter in order for one to excel.

As a matter of fact, several former winners of the prestigious World 9-Ball Pool Championship, like Americans Earl Strickland and Johnny Archer, Chinese Taipei’s Chao Fong-pan, Germany’s Ralf Souquet and local idols Efren “Bata” Reyes, Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, may be considered old for an athlete, yet they are good for some more years.

While it is true that there are other sports such as chess and marathon where age does not also matter, it is on record that a Filipino is yet to become a world champion in these sports. In billiards, the Philippines has already produced three world champions.

Hall of Famer Reyes was already 45 when he captured the world crown in Cardiff, Wales, in 1999. He is now 54.

Supported by brothers former Assemblyman Jose “Popit” Puyat and Aristeo “Putch” Puyat, the toothless “Magician” is an original member of the powerhouse Puyat Sports stable that includes the 58-year-old Jose “Amang” Parica, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, 44; and 50-year-old Rodolfo “Boy Samson” Luat, who topped the recent Sen. Manny Villar Cup in Bacolod City.

Pagulayan, the 2004 world champion and 2005 US Open winner, is the latest addition to the team.

“His (Reyes) style is so drastically different,” once said the legendary Nick Varner, a two-time Billiards Digest Player of the Year. “He attracts a lot of attention. And he has a big impact on the way we Americans play the game.”

On the other hand, double world champion Alcano, who bagged the 2006 world 9-ball crown and the 2007 world 8-ball title, is now 35. Pagulayan, who won the 2004 world 9-ball and 2005 US Open crowns, is pushing 29.

Veteran internationalist Strickland is now 47, but still going strong. He won the world 9-ball title three times, in 1990, 1991 and 2002. Archer, 40, captured the championships twice, in 1992 and 1997.

On the other hand, two-time champion Chao, a contemporary of Reyes, took the crown in 1993 and 2000, while Souquet won it in 1996. Both are nearing 60, yet they are still capable of punishing young talents with their arsenals of flawless breaks, silk-smooth runs and merciless safeties.

-by Manolo Iñigo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

A sport where age is not a factor

In my view, billiards is one sport where age does not matter in order for one to excel.

As a matter of fact, several former winners of the prestigious World 9-Ball Pool Championship, like Americans Earl Strickland and Johnny Archer, Chinese Taipei’s Chao Fong-pan, Germany’s Ralf Souquet and local idols Efren “Bata” Reyes, Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, may be considered old for an athlete, yet they are good for some more years.

While it is true that there are other sports such as chess and marathon where age does not also matter, it is on record that a Filipino is yet to become a world champion in these sports. In billiards, the Philippines has already produced three world champions.

Hall of Famer Reyes was already 45 when he captured the world crown in Cardiff, Wales, in 1999. He is now 54.

Supported by brothers former Assemblyman Jose “Popit” Puyat and Aristeo “Putch” Puyat, the toothless “Magician” is an original member of the powerhouse Puyat Sports stable that includes the 58-year-old Jose “Amang” Parica, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, 44; and 50-year-old Rodolfo “Boy Samson” Luat, who topped the recent Sen. Manny Villar Cup in Bacolod City.

Pagulayan, the 2004 world champion and 2005 US Open winner, is the latest addition to the team.

“His (Reyes) style is so drastically different,” once said the legendary Nick Varner, a two-time Billiards Digest Player of the Year. “He attracts a lot of attention. And he has a big impact on the way we Americans play the game.”

On the other hand, double world champion Alcano, who bagged the 2006 world 9-ball crown and the 2007 world 8-ball title, is now 35. Pagulayan, who won the 2004 world 9-ball and 2005 US Open crowns, is pushing 29.

Veteran internationalist Strickland is now 47, but still going strong. He won the world 9-ball title three times, in 1990, 1991 and 2002. Archer, 40, captured the championships twice, in 1992 and 1997.

On the other hand, two-time champion Chao, a contemporary of Reyes, took the crown in 1993 and 2000, while Souquet won it in 1996. Both are nearing 60, yet they are still capable of punishing young talents with their arsenals of flawless breaks, silk-smooth runs and merciless safeties.

-by Manolo Iñigo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

‘Biggies’ in Villar Cup

Expect an even more exciting and more competitive pool action as the First Senate President Manny Villar Cup goes international for its fifth leg slated from November 13 to 16 at the Garden Royal Function Hall of Goldenfields Commercial Complex in Bacolod City.

After four highly successful stops, where the cream of the country’s billiards’ crop battled for supremacy, the island-hopping series, presented by Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports, has opened its door for some of the world’s top cue artists.

“We want to make this tournament even more competitive, more challenging to our top players, while giving our young players the experience of playing in the international level,” said Senate President Manny Villar during the press launch Wednesday at the Bacolod Goldenfields’ Garden Royal.

“This is part of my commitment of helping sports, especially those where we Filipinos can excel in and dominate, like billiards,” added Villar, now considered as the biggest benefactor of Philippine billiards.

Former World Cup of Pool titlist Fu Jianbo of China leads the visiting forces, who will mix it up with 24 local bets for the coveted title and the $15,000 top prize at stake in this four-day event, organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines in cooperation with the city government of Bacolod, led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia, and the Negros Billiards Stable of businessman Jonathan Sy and sponsored by Camella Communities.

Besides Fu, the other foreign entries in this tournament, also dubbed as “the Bacolod International VILLARDS Festival,” are former Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata of Japan and Christian Johannessen of Norway, among others.

“Mas mabigat nga ang laban ngayon, pero tingin ko kami-kami pa rin ang magkikita sa finals,” said pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes, reprising one of his famous lines.

Reyes will once again lead the local charge, along with fellow former world champions Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, reigning world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Lee Van Corteza and previous Villar Cup leg winners Kiamco (Alabang), Gandy Valle (Cebu), Ramil Gallego (Bulacan) and Roberto Gomez (Davao).

Also in the 32-man field are Carlo Biado and Ricky Zerna. The rest of the slot will be filled through wild-card entries and a series of qualifying tournaments slated from November 8 to 11 at the Celebrity Billiards and Bar in Bacolod City.

Besides the international invitational division, there will also be the Executive Class and Amateur divisions for both men and women, where almost half-a-million pesos cash prize is at stake.

RP’s best pool players team up in battle vs. Best of the World

Philippines best cue masters will join forces to keep the nation’s status as the best billiards playing country.

Former world champions Alex Pagulayan, Efren “Bata” Reyes and Ronnie Alcano, current world No.1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, 2007 World Pool runnerup Roberto “Superman” Gomez, and Southeast Asian Games gold medalists Warren Kiamco and Lee Van Corteza are drawn together to form Team Quezon City-Philippines.

They will be cueing up against the collection of the best players who will be suiting up for the World Team; composed of newly-crowned US Open champion Mika Immonen of Finland, Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, Wu Chia Ching of Chinese-Taipei and Shane Van Boening of the United States.

Other members of Team World are World Cup of Pool winner Rodney Morris and Charlie Williams of the US and Jianbo Fu of China, and newly-crowned Guinness 9-Ball Tour Grand Finals champion Ching Shun Yang of Chinese Taipei.

The two teams will play for the $40,000 top prize of the Q.C. Invasion: Quezon City-Philippines vs. the World Grand Billiards Showdown on Dec. 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City.

The two teams will play singles, doubles and team events patterned after the famous Mosconi Cup, an annual contest between the best pool players of the US and Europe.

RP is making waves in world billiards

Filipino cue artists once again proved that you win in billiards not only through inborn grace and intelligence, but most of all through experience.

Former double world champion Ronnie Alcano, lead player of Bugsy Promotions, and battle-scarred Warren Kiamco made the Final Four against former world champions Mika Immonen of Finland and Johnny Archer of the United States, respectively, in the star-studded 33rd US Open 9-Ball Championship in Chesapeake, Virginia. (This piece was submitted before the event’s final two stages—Ed)

Whether or not they win the US Open title and the champion’s paycheck of $40,000, the Filipino pair will make history. The mere fact that they stormed into the magic four shows that Filipinos can hold their own even against the world’s best and toughest pros.

Over in Jakarta, world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo, also of Bugsy Promotions, and 2004 World Pool 9-Ball champion Alex Pagulayan of Puyat Sports, likewise landed in the elite four in this year’s Guinness Tour Grand Finals, the culmination of the Asian Tour.

All four players—Alcano, Kiamco, Orcollo and Pagulayan—are mainstays of the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines, a group of professionals whose main objective is to promote the game of pool nationwide and to look after the well-being of its members.

In my view, local billiards is already the real winner here. The mere fact that the country’s present crop of veteran cue artists is now a force to reckon with in the international pool scene speaks well of the people running the sport.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Americans were the most dominant billiards players in the world. Among their top pool pros were Nick Varner, Mike Lebron, Jimmy Rempe, Jay Helfert, Kim Davenport, Buddy Hall and, much later in the 1990s and 2000s, Earl Strickland, Johnny Archer, Corey Deuel, Rodney Morris and Shane Van Boening.

In the 1980s, Filipino players entered the picture. Ageless Jose “Amang” Parica, now United States-based, led the Philippine invasion of the American circuit in mid-1984.

Humble and simple Efren “Bata” Reyes, playing under the name of Cesar Morales, started to build a reputation that would make him the most dangerous and finest player on the planet.

In 1985, Reyes, then 29, won his first US title—the Red’s 9-Ball Open in Houston, Texas. He earned the moniker “The Magician” because of his smooth motion and subtle touch.

In 1994, Reyes captured the US Open to become the first non-American to win the crown. A native of Pampanga, Reyes capped his achievements by winning the World Pool Championship in Cardiff, Wales, in 1999 at age 45. Reyes, who is now 54, skipped the 2008 US Open due to health reasons.

Many-time world champion Strickland, the flamboyant American cue artist who is also Reyes’ bitterest rival, said: “In my book, Reyes is the greatest player in the world. What else can you say? He plays you and he beats you.”

Immonen and Alcano Set for US Open Finals

The finals of the 33rd Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships are set, with Mika “Iceman” Immonen and Ronnie Alcano to return for their 7:30 p.m. match at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA.

Earlier in the day, Johnny Archer matched up with Warren Kiamco in the quarterfinal match, which ended up being one-sided in Kiamco’s favor. At 7-1 in Kiamco’s favor, Archer finally notched another rack and then switched from a head-on break to a cut break and jumped the cue ball off the table. Kiamco took that opportunity to three-foul Archer, going up 8-2. He then broke and ran two racks to reach the hill, at which point Archer made a bit of a run when Kiamco hung the 8. It was too little, too late, though, for Archer missed a jump shot on the 1 ball, and Kiamco won handily 11-4.

At the same time, the hot seat match between Immonen and Alcano was going on at the Accu-Stats table. They traded the first six racks, but then Alcano pulled ahead to 8-3, a large margin he created by excellent defensive play. Immonen rallied a bit, winning the next rack after Alcano overcut the 8 ball and then breaking and running the following rack. He came up empty on his next break, though, and Alcano ran out; however, Alcano made nothing on his next break, and Immonen cleared the table to make it 9-6. A missed jump shot on the 2 ball by Immonen gave Alcano the hill, and then when Alcano pocketed a ball on his last break, he was able to clear the table to win 11-6.

Bustamante, Alcano stay unscathed

Filipinos Francisco “Django” Bustamante and Ronnie Alcano posted their fifth consecutive victories Thursday to stay in the winners’ bracket in the 33rd Annual US Open 9-Ball Championship at the Chesapeake Convention Center in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Bustamante of Puyat Sports overwhelmed Oscar Dominguez, 11-1, while Alcano of Bugsy Promotions outlasted compatriot Lee Van Corteza, 11-9, as they stayed unscathed in the star-studded event that offers a total cash purse of $250,000.

Corteza made amends by getting the better of Germany’s reigning world eight-ball champion Ralf Souquet, 11-8, in the losers’ bracket to enter the tournament’s last 16.

United States-based Jose “Amang” Parica later pulled the rug from under defending champion Shane Van Boening of the US, 11-10, to join Bustamante, Alcano, and five others in the tightening circle of unbeaten players from the original field of 238.

Counting the eight remnants in the one-loss bracket, only 16 players stayed in contention heading into the final two days of the race for the $40,000 champion’s purse.

Joining Alcano, Bustamante and Parica in the winners’ side are former world champions Mika Immonen, Johnny Archer and Thorsten Hohmann, as well as reigning world 9-ball titlist Darryl Peach and World Cup of Pool co-champion Rodney Morris.

Immonen blasted Shawn Putnam, 11-1; Archer downed Brandon Shuff, 11-5; Hohmann routed Petri Makkonen, 11-2; Peach outsmarted Raj Hundal, 11-8; and Morris trounced Adam Smith, 11-4.

The unfriendly draw, however, has Alcano and Bustamante going up against each other in the next round. Parica will meet Immonen, Archer battles Peach and Hohmann collided with Morris.

Warren Kiamco scored five wins in the losers’ bracket to stay in the hunt.