The qualifying tournament for the Panabenga leg of the Sen. Manny Villar Cup has seen a number of entries from promising young stars eager to make a name for themselves by barging into the elite circle of pool superstars.
The qualifier will be held at the Bowling Inn on Taft Avenue, Manila on February 17 and 18.
At stake will be the six remaining slots to the star-studded 32 player main draw for the first stop of the second season of the hugely popular island-hopping series presented by Sen. Manny Villar's Villards Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports.
The qualifiers will also get a chance to compete for the lion's ahare of P300,000 (over $6,000) from the total prize money of P800,000 (over $16,000) at stake in the event sponsored by Camella Communities.
Already listed in the main draw are former world champions Efren “Bata” Reyes and Alex “The Lion”Pagulayan, pool legend Francisco “Django” Bustamante, hotshot Dennis Orcollo, recent Derby City Classic winner Lee Van Corteza, last year's Alabang leg winners Warren Kiamco (Alabang), Gandy Valle (Cebu) Ramil Gallego (Bulacan) Roberto Gomez (Davao) and Roodolfo Luat (Bacolod).
The Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines spiced up the competition by awarding wild card entries to the Philippines' top women's player Rubilen Amit as well as Canadian Gerry Watson.
Also in the roster are ten players from the BMPAP rankings – Carlo Biado, Russian Petiza, William Millares, Benjie Guevara, Michael Feliciano, Elmer Haya, Egie Geronimo, Ricky Zerna, Godofredo Ducanes and Rene Mar David as well as 2008 Search for the New Billiards Idol grand winner Mike Takayama.
The Villar Cup Panagbenga leg will be held at SM City Baguio and will be part of the summer capital's month-long flower festival which is expected to draw over one million visitors.
Sen. Villar Cup Qualifier Draws Promising Young Pool Stars
February 12, 2009