The Sen. Manny Villar Cup which has earned a name as the premier billiards series in the Philippines following its highly successful inaugural season will open with a bang on February 20 in the summer capital of Baguio City and be bigger this year..
Sen. Villar, a longtime billiards enthusiast and supporter told a news conference at the StarMall EDSA “I'm happy to announce that the Villar Cup will continue this year with more tournaments. This is part of my commitment to help the sport where we Filipinos are on top of the world.”
Several of the country's pool superstars led by former world champions Ronnie Alcano and Alex Pagulayan as well as Dennis Orcollo were among those who joined senator Villar at the news conference to kick-start the popular island-hopping tour even as the senator said a number of other pool events would be supported by his Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports.
The Villar Cup “Panagbenga" leg will be held at SM City, Baguio and will form part of the city's month-long flower festival which is expected to attract over a million visitors.
Organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) and sponsored by Camella Communities the tour will move from Baguio to Lucena City in March and Lipa City in April. The Villar Cup will return in August to Davao City before traveling to Palawan.
Aside from Alcano, Pagulayan and Orcollo also vying in the Villar Cup are “The Magician” Efren “Bata” Reyes, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Lee Van Corteza and last year's tour stop winners Warren Kiamco, Gandy Valle, Ramil Gallego, Roberto Gomez and Rodolfo Luat.
Villar will also support the National Open scheduled in May and a couple of international tournaments being planned later this year.
