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Philippines vs the World
The Atrium
Trinoma Mall
EDSA corner North Avenue
Quezon City 1105
Philippines
www.bmpappropool.com
www.ayalamalls.com.ph

Tuesday - Thursday 2-4 December 2008

PHILIPPINES VS WORLD GRAND POOL SHOWDOWN

Newly-crowned Guinness 9-Ball Tour grand champion Yang Ching-shun has agreed to join the international that will challenge the Filipinos� as the best pool-playing nation in the planet in the Q.C. Invasion: Quezon City-Philippines vs the World Grand Billiards Showdown slated from December 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City.

Yang�s entry made the Team World even more formidable to give the Team QC-Philippines a run for its money in this much-anticipated event organized by Quezon City Council Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton and backed by the Quezon City government led by Mayor Sonny Belmonte.

Prior to winning the Guinness Tour, Yang is already regarded as one of the best Asian cue artists. The 31-year-old former Asian Games gold medalist is known as the �Son of pool.

"Read More..." for the details.

He is best remembered in the country as the player, who beat reigning world no.1 Dennis Orcollo in their one-on-one duel dubbed as �The Richest Game in Asia � last year.

Yang will join fellow Taiwanese superstar former world champion Wu Chia-ching, former world titlists Thorsten Hohmann of Germany and Mika Immonen of Finland , newly-crowned World Cup of Pool ruler Rodney Morris and fellow American Charlie Williams, Raj Hundal of England and China �s top player Fu Jianbo.

�Yang is one of the best I�ve ever played, he�s very hard to beat,� said Orcollo. �So with his inclusion to the Team World, we�ll have a very tough task ahead.�

Joining Orcollo in defending the country�s pride are former world champions Efren �Bata� Reyes, Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, along with Francisco �Django� Bustamante, Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza and Warren Kiamco.

The two squads will square off in singles, doubles and team events similar to that of the famed Mosconi Cup with the winning side taking the $40,000 top prize at stake in this event supported by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines, the Quezon City Tourism Council and Senate President Manny Villar's Villards with Solar Sports, RPN-9, the Philippine Star and BusinessMirror as media partners.

Quezon City plans to make �QC Invasion� a yearly affair as part of its living up to its claim as the sports-tourism capital of the Philippines .

Quezon City, Philippines vs the World - Grand Billiards Showdown

Quezon City seeks to further boost its tag as the premier sports tourism hub in the Philippines when it will play host to the face off between the country�s pool superstars and their counterparts from the rest of the globe in the event dubbed as �The QC Invasion: Quezon City, Philippines vs the World, Grand Billiards Showdown� on December 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall.

The �battle royale� pits eight top Filipino cue artists, led by billiards icon Efren �Bata� Reyes, against eight equally-revered foreign pool masters in a team competition with the winning squad receiving $40,000 cash prize.

�This big event aims not only to showcase the skills and talents of our own talented players against the world�s best but also to promote Quezon City as one of the country�s leading sports-tourism destinations,� said Quezon City Council majority floor leader Ariel Inton during the press launch yesterday at Mario�s Restaurant in Tomas Morato.

Inton is the chief proponent of this three-day event supported by the Quezon City Government, QC Tourism Council and the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) with Solar Sports, RPN and the Philippine Star as media partners.

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano �Sonny� Belmonte, who led the unveiling of the event�s logo, welcomed the event as a major vehicle that would showcase Quezon City as one of the country�s top tourist destinations as well as help further promote the sports �where we, Filipinos, are on top of the world.�

�One thing Quezon City and billiards share is both are moving forward on their way to more progress,� said Belmonte, who was joined in the ceremony by Vice-mayor Herbert Bautista, city councilors Inton, Toto Medalla and Vincent Belmonte, QC Tourism Council chairman Raffy Chico, BMPAP president Atty. Vic Rodriguez, BMPAP founders Perry Mariano and Jonathan Sy, Solar Sports vice-president for marketing Jude Tarcuato and the members of the Team QC Philippines.

Besides Reyes, the other members of the Team QC Philippines are fellow former world champions Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, reigning world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco �Django� Bustamante, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza and Warren Kiamco.

They will go up against a foreign team also led by three former world titlists in Wu Chia-ching of Chinese-Taipei, Mika Immonen of Finland and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany. The other players of Team World are former European no.1 Konstantin Stepanov of Russia , 2006 Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata of Japan , Yang Ching-shun of Chinese-Taipei, and Charlie Williams and Rodney Morris of the United States.

Quezon City Council Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton (seated fourth from left) signs the memorandum of agreement between the Quezon City government and the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) for the staging of the Q.C. Philippines vs the World Grand Billiards Showdown slated on December 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall. Also in photo are BMPAP co-founder Perry Mariano, QC Tourism Council chairman Raffy Chico and members of the organizing committee, as well as Team QC Philippines players Efren �Bata� Reyes, Ronnie Alcano, Alex Pagulayan, Dennis Orcollo and Lee Van Corteza.

Efren "Bata" Reyes will captain Team Philippines.
No less than maestro Efren �Bata� Reyes will be at the forefront of the country�s defense of its reputation as the best pool-playing nation in the planet against a pack of invading international stars in the Q.C. Invasion: Quezon City-Philippines vs the World Grand Billiards Showdown slated on December 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City .

The 54-year-old Reyes, still undoubtedly the sport�s top draw, was unanimously chosen by his teammates to be the captain of the home squad in this much-anticipated battle royale organized by Quezon City Council Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton and backed by the Quezon City government led by Mayor Sonny Belmonte.

�It�s an honor to be selected as the team captain. I will do my best to lead our team to victory,� said the charismatic sports hero.

Reyes will join forces with fellow former world champions Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, current world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, former world no.1 Francisco �Django� Bustamante, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, former national champion Lee Van Corteza and four-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Warren Kiamco in this team-based competition for the $40,000 winner purse.

�Champ (Reyes) is our hands down choice because he is the Michael Jordan of billiards. We are many Kobe Bryants or LeBron Jameses, but there is only one Michael Jordan, and that is him,� said Pagulayan.

�We believe that his leadership can wheel us to victory,� he added.

The all-star Filipino crew will go up against a selection led by former world titleholders Mike Immonen of Finland and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany in this three-day event also supported by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) and the Quezon City Tourism Council with Solar Sports, RPN-9 and the Philippine Star as media partners.

The two teams will slug it out in singles, doubles and team events similar to that of the Mosconi Cup.

Quezon City plans to make �QC Invasion� a yearly affair as part of its living up to its claim as the sports-tourism capital of the Philippines.

Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan.
After failing to win any of the world titles this year, the top Filipino cue artists will join forces to keep the Philippines� tag as the best billiards-playing nation as they take on the challenge from a selection of topnotch international pool stars in the Q.C. Invasion: Quezon City-Philippines vs the World Grand Billiards Showdown slated on December 2 to 4 at the Trinoma Mall in Quezon City.

�We may not have a reigning world champion now, but we, still, are the best in the sport, and that we will prove in this tournament,� said Alex Pagulayan, who is one of the eight hometown bets in this much-anticipated event organized by Quezon City Council Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton and backed by the Quezon City government led by Mayor Sonny Belmonte.

�Though we know that it�s going to be a heck of a fight for us with the line-up they have in the other side, we are confident that we�ll be able to pull it through and end the Philippine billards� year with a bang,� added Pagulayan.

Joining Pagulayan in the Team Quezon City-Philippines are fellow former world champions Efren �Bata� Reyes and Ronnie Alcano, along with current world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco �Django� Bustamante, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, and Southeast Asian Games multi-gold medalists Warren Kiamco and Lee Van Corteza.

They will go up against the Team World led by newly-crown US Open champion Mika Immonen of Finland with fellow former world titlists Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, Wu Chia-ching of Chinese-Taipei and Shane van Boening of the United States, as well as World Cup of Pool winner American Rodney Morris and compatriot Charlie Williams, and Fu Jianbo of China. Newly-crowned Guinness 9-Ball Tour Grand Finals champion Yang Ching-shun is being eyed as the eighth member of the squad.

The two teams will slug it out in singles, doubles and team events similar to that of the famed Mosconi Cup with the winning side taking the $40,000 top prize at stake in this event supported by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines, the Quezon City Tourism Council and Senate President Manny Villar's Villards with Solar Sports, RPN-9, the Philippine Star and BusinessMirror as media partners.

Quezon City plans to make �QC Invasion� a yearly affair as part of its living up to its claim as the sports-tourism capital of the Philippines .

This as Inton proudly reported to Mayor Belmonte that the Filipino community in the United States, during his recent visit there, has thrown their all out support to the project, especially to the Team Q.C.-Philippines.

�They are very excited to watch the event, and I�ve convinced some of them to come over here to see it live,� said Inton.

BALLS AND STICKS. UNTV Station Manager Jay Sonza and Verna Mariano of Bugsy Promotions sign the contract for the soon-to-be-launched billiards magazine show entitled �Balls and Sticks.� Also in photo are 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Raine Larrazabal and Joy Delorei, who are among the hosts of this primetime weekly program.

Senate President Manny Villar poses with members of the ABS-CBN team, who ruled the First Villar Cup Media Edition. Also in photo are the country�s top cue artists Alex Pagulayan, Dennis Orcollo, Francisco �Django� Bustamante, Efren �Bata� Reyes and Gandy Valle.
Senate President Manny Villar has pledged his support to the top Filipino cue artists who will carry the Philippine flag in the much-anticipated Q.C. Invasion: Quezon City-Philippines vs the World Grand Billiards Showdown slated from December 2 to 4 at the Atrium of Trinoma Mall in Quezon City.

Villar, who has become the newest godfather of Philippine billiards, said that he is going all-out in supporting the sport as he believes that this is �one of the fields that consistently provide inspiration to us, Filipinos, amidst these trying times.�

�I�m supporting our pool players� campaigns here and abroad, especially in this forthcoming Q.C. invasion where our country�s top cue artists will protect our reputation as the best billiards-playing nation against a selection of topnotch foreign players from around the world,� said Villar.

No less than billiards� living legend Efren �Bata� Reyes will lead the eight-man Team QC-Philippines in this three-day showdown supported by the Quezon City government led by Mayor Sonny Belmonte and City Council Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton, along with the Q.C. Tourism Council led by chairman Raffy Chico and the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP).

Besides Reyes, the other members of the Team QC Philippines are fellow former world champions Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, reigning world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco �Django� Bustamante, 2007 World Pool runner-up Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza and Warren Kiamco.

They will go up against a foreign team also led by three former world titlists in Wu Chia-ching of Chinese-Taipei, Mika Immonen of Finland and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany. The other players of Team World are former European no.1 Konstantin Stepanov of Russia , 2006 Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata of Japan , Yang Ching-shun of Chinese-Taipei, and Charlie William and Rodney Morris of the United States.

Check out the Pro9.co.uk Calendar for more tournament dates.

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