Senator Manny B. Villar returns to his home province of Iloilo with the country’s topnotch cue artists in tow as The Manny Villar Cup resumes with its ninth leg on July 30 to August 2 in Iloilo City.

Led by pool icon Efren “Bata” Reyes, the cream of the Philippine billiards crop will once again pit skills against each other for the coveted title and the P300,000 top purse at stake in this prestigious island-hopping series presented by Senator Villar’s Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports.

“I hope my fellow Ilonggos would enjoy seeing our world-class billiards players playing in front of them, and to those who are aspiring to become one of them, may this provide them inspiration,” said Villar, the foremost supporter of this Filipino-dominated sport.

“After three successful legs in Luzon this year – Baguio, Isabela, Calabarzon, we’re going down south again and to a new place as we continue our program to further develop billiards in our country, and we’re very thankful to Senator Manny for his continued support in our endeavor,” said Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) president Atty. Vic Rodriguez.

Besides Reyes, other world-renowned pool masters competing in the tournament, co-organized by the BMPAP and sponsored by Camella Communities, are fellow former world champion Ronnie Alcano and Alex Pagulayan, former world no.1 Dennis Orcollo and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, and former leg winners Warren Kiamco, Gandy Valle, Ramil Gallego, Rodolfo Luat, Roberto Gomez and Lee Van Corteza.

They will be joined by the crop of promising stars like Carlo Biado, Joven Bustamante, Rene Mar David, Mike Takayama, Michael Feliciano and Ricky Zerna.

As part of its goal to discover new talent from the countryside, The Villar Cup has also allotted six slots for players residing in Iloilo and the nearby provinces.

There will be a qualifying tournament, which will also serve as the Western Visayas Regional Villards Championship, a day before the main draw, in which the winners will also have a chance to represent the region in The Manny Villar Cup: Philippine National Villards Championships slated in September. (PNA)
FFC/LOR/PR

( Source: Philippines News Agency )