Philippine Billiards legends Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes, Francisco ‘Django’ Bustamante, Ronnie ‘The Volcano’ Alcano and Dennis ‘Robocop’ Orcollo were spotted at the Villards Cup 2012 Billiards Tournament which was held at the newly-opened Starmall in San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan on September 23 and 24. I was at the sporting event during the opening where I also saw Sen. Manny Villar who was flocked by the media and left me on the sidelines observing. Fortunately I was able to capture a snapshot.
Sixteen amateur players from all over the province of Bulacan qualified for the Villards Cup competition. Started in 2008, the billiards tournament was established to provide a place for amateur players to compete against budding players. This is a very good avenue to promote the sport. Unlike basketball and most recently, football, I am not aware of any training or clinics established to hone the skills of amateur billiards players. This is quite sad because billiards is growing in popularity among the youth alongside basketball. Sen. Villar said support for this sport should be encouraged and enhanced. He led the ceremonial ‘break’ of the billiard tournament.
I’m sure the 16 contenders were inspired to play billiards. Big cash prizes await the winners, plus a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The players are a mixed lot, from as young as 16 years of age, with the most senior aged 52. Sen. Villar is hopeful that the Villards Cup will be instrumental in discovering and developing the potential of amateur billiards player.
Mrs. Cynthia Villar was present during the awarding and closing ceremonies held on the 2nd day of the tournament. Mrs. Villar, the Chairman and Managing Director of the Villar Foundation noted that this is one of the sports-oriented programs of the foundation, which also aims to engage the Filipino youth into sports and live a more purposeful life instead of becoming a bystander and getting into illegal drugs. One of the advocacies of the Villar Foundation is grassroots sports development throughout the country. In its 20 years of service, various sports programs have been implemented to support this thrust including Sports sa Barangay, football clinics among other. The Villards Cup has been staged in key cities of the Philippines and has featured the best Filipino cue artists and has paved the way in discovering future billiard players.
Mrs. Villar led the awarding of the winners, assisted by the Philippine Billards legends. The winners of the Villards Cup 2012 Billiards Tournament are:
The Villards Cup project of the Villar Foundation in cooperation with Starmall, Puyat Sports and Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines.
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itin
4 October, 2012 at 8:17 am (UTC 8) Link to this comment
Manny Villar really knows the who’s who in showbiz and sports. I wonder how much he pays these personalities to campaign for him.
R.O.M.E.L.O.
29 September, 2012 at 6:49 pm (UTC 8) Link to this comment
sabi nga, kung may makinarya ka bakit di mo gamitin… pulitika kasi ay popularity contest… sorry kung sa pulitika natuon ang komento ko…
special education philippines
26 September, 2012 at 3:38 pm (UTC 8) Link to this comment
I just watched CCP’s Walang Kukurap and thought that reading this blog was timely. I also read Fred’s comment above and I have to agree about the bright orange political color behind this tournament. Though maybe the colors of politics is a strong force behind this, I hope the intention of helping our gifted Filipino athletes will remain the utmost priority in promoting this event.
Fred
26 September, 2012 at 5:31 am (UTC 8) Link to this comment
While the political color of this event cannot be denied, grassroots sports development is always good. Hope another world-class talent emerges from one of these competitions.