THE cream of Philippine billiards crop, along with over a dozen wannabes, will slug it out in the $30,000-plus San Miguel Beer-Quezon City 9-Ball Championship that unfurls Monday at the TriNoma Mall in Quezon City.

Former world champions Efren “Bata” Reyes, Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano lead the cast of 32 players vying for the distinction of winning the country’s first major pool event of the year. The tournament is presented by San Miguel Beer in cooperation with the Quezon City government led by Mayor Sonny Belmonte.

It is coorganized by Bugsy Promotions, Puyat Sports and Negros Billiards Stable and is the first major project of the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP).

Besides Reyes, Pagulayan and Alcano, also seeing action in the three-day competition are Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Dennis Orcollo, Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza, Gandy Valle, Rodolfo Luat, Warren Kiamco, Ramil Gallego, Joven Bustamante and top lady bet Rubilen Amit, as well as qualifiers Jharome Peña, Egie Geronimo, Elmer Haya, Antonio Delfin, Benjie Guevarra, Carlo Biado, Richard Yes, Leonardo Didal, Aram Serquiano, Romar Villones, William Chua and Romeo Timcang.

Seven more slots to the main draw were disputed Sunday in a qualifying tournament at the Paeng’s Skybowl Bowling and Billiards Center in Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas.

An entertaining opening ceremony will usher in the tournament with Belmonte as guest of honor. He will be joined by BMPAP chairman Isaac Belmonte, president Atty. Vic Rodriguez, billiards patron Aristeo “Putch” Puyat and other top sports officials and supporters. Sultry singer-actress Geneva Cruz will sing the national anthem.

The tournament, sponsored by the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp., TriNoma, Philippine Star, Ayala Malls and Philippine Poker Tour, is open free to the public and will also be shown live on ABC 5 from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m.

World champ again!

Manny Pacquiao crowned himself world champion a third time, but not after surviving an intense contest against fierce Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Respect Earned

THE Philippines is Planet Pacquiao. But before it produced a world beater, the archipelago was first known as—and still remains—underdog country.

Jason Castro and Francis Allera are miles apart in terms of stature in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL).

THE cream of Philippine billiards crop, along with over a dozen wannabes, will slug it out in the $30,000-plus San Miguel Beer-Quezon City 9-Ball Championship that unfurls Monday at the TriNoma Mall in Quezon City.

THE Shakey’s V-League unveils its fifth season on March 30 with a promise of another blockbuster conference that has marked the last two stagings of the country’s premier women’s volleyball league at The Arena in San Juan City.

THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will formally open Monday its Mindanao satellite office in Davao City, a move aimed to further strengthen the government’s grassroots-development program in the countryside.

IT was dated 1982, but for all intents and purposes it could have happened just yesterday. It was one of those “holy shit” moments for Jay Jay de Ocampo, who was already with a chip on his shoulder the size of a mountain.