The first Senate President Manny Villar Cup goes international when it holds the fifth leg on Nov. 13-16 at the Garden Royal Function Hall of Goldenfields Commercial Complex in Bacolod City.
After four successful stops, which featured the cream of the country’s crop, the island-hopping series, presented by Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports, will now showcase the talent of a number of foreign entries.
“We want to make this tournament more competitive, more challenging to our top players, while giving our young players the experience of playing in the international level,” said Senate President Manny Villar during the press launch yesterday at the Goldenfields’ Garden Royal.
“This is part of my commitment to help RP sports, especially where Filipinos can excel and dominate, like billiards,” said Villar.
Former World Cup of Pool titlist Fu Jianbo of China leads the foreign field, set to square off with 24 local bets for the coveted title and the $15,000 top prize in the four-day event organized by the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP) in cooperation with the city government of Bacolod led by Mayor Evelio Leonardia and the Negros Billiards Stable (NBS) of businessman Jonathan Sy, and sponsored by Camella Communities.
Also seeing action are former Asian Games gold medalist Satoshi Kawabata of Japan and Christian Johannessen of Norway, among others.