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
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Senator Manny Villar and Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte pose with the protagonists of the Q.C. Invasion: Quezon City-Philippines vs the World Grand VILLARDS Showdown.. Also in photo is Quezon City Council Leader Ariel Inton and fellow councilors Allan Francisco, Jun Ferrer and Franz Pumaren, along with the players (2nd to 5th from left) Rodney Morris, Raj Hundal, Mika Immonen and Thorsten Hohmann of Team World and (from right) Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza, Dennis Orcollo and (5th) Warren Kiamco.
PHILIPPINES VS WORLD GRAND POOL SHOWDOWN
Quezon City, the city of stars, will have a constellation of the world’s brightest pool stars when it plays host to the much-anticipated Q.C. Invasion: Quezon City-Philippines vs the World Grand VILLARDS Showdown on December 2 to 4 at the posh Trinoma Mall.
Eight of the best Filipino cue artists, led by the sport’s living legend Efren “Bata” Reyes, will stake the country’s claim as the best billiards-playing nation in the planet against a selection of equally-potent from the rest of the globe in this event presented by Senator Manny Villar’s Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports, and the Quezon City government led by Mayor Sonny Belmonte.
“We are very proud and honored to host this exciting showdown between the best Filipino billiards players and their topnotch foreign counterparts,” said Quezon City Council Majority Floor Leader Ariel Inton, the chief proponent of the event, during the press conference yesterday at the Quezon City Hall.
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“This big event, which we plan to hold yearly, 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,” added Inton, who was joined by Senator Villar, Mayor Belmonte and Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) president Atty. Vic Rodriguez in introducing the participants.
Also present in the press conference were Quezon City councilors Franz Pumaren, Jun Ferrer and Allan Francisco.
“We want Quezon City to be known in the world of sports and this tournament is juts the start of our campaign to host more international sports events,” said Mayor Belmonte.
Besides the bragging rights, a cash prize of $40,000 (P2-million) as awaits the winning team in this competition sponsored by Camella Communities and supported by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) and the Quezon City Tourism Council with Solar Sports, RPN-9, the Philippine Star and BusinessMirror as media partners.
Joining Efren Reyes in protecting the country’s reputation as the “epicenter of pool” are fellow former world champions Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano, along with current world no.1 Dennis Orcollo, Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Roberto Gomez, Lee Van Corteza and Warren Kiamco with Senator Villar as the team’s chief backer.
“I’m supporting the whole event as part of my commitment to help further develop billiards in our country. But in particular, I’m with our own team, especially na itong mga players natin, sa dalas ng aming pagsasama-sama, ay barkada na ang aming turingan,” said Villar, now the biggest benefactor of Philippine billiards
The Team World is composed of former world champions Mika Immonen of Finland, Thorsten Hohmann of Germany and Wu Chia-ching of Chinese-Taipei, as well as Rodney Morris and Charlie Williams of the United States, Yang Ching-shun of Chinese-Taipei, Raj Hundal of England and Fu Jianbo of China.
“You have a very strong team, but we are confident that we can win this event,” said Morris.
The two squads will square off in singles, doubles and team events similar to that of the famed Mosconi Cup.
