Villar expects thriller in Alcano-Reyes duel

MANILA, Philippines - The Efren “Bata” Reyes and Ronnie Alcano duel firing off tomorrow remains a tossup with Sen. Manny Villar, the country’s top billiards patron, still unsure whom to pick in the one-on-one showdown.

“I think it’s going to be a thrilling match with the finale, most likely, going down-to-the-wire,” said Villar during yesterday’s PSA Forum at the Shakey’s on UN Ave.

“I’ve seen Efren and Ronnie play a number of times and I think they’re almost even in every aspect of the game,” said Villar, who was joined in the weekly session by Reyes and Alcano, along with Bugsy Promotions head Perry Mariano.

The two-day event, dubbed as the Villards Challenge of the Legend: The Maestro versus The Volcano, will be held at the Skydome of SM North Edsa in Quezon City.

Villar also said that supporting this event is part of his commitment to help billiards, “which is one of a few sports where we Filipinos are among the bests in the international arena.”

The $20,000 event will have two undercards, the first of which is the JBETpoker.net Scotch Doubles All-Star Challenge, a four-way tournament featuring the tandems of former world No.1 Dennis Orcollo and Asian Games gold medalist Gandy Valle (Bugsy Promotions); former world champion Alex Pagulayan and Rodolfo Luat (Puyat Sports); Lee Van Corteza and Warren Kiamco (Negros Billiards Stable); and Ramil Gallego and Antonio Lining (BMPAP Selection).

A tournament for the young and up-and-coming pool stars billed as the Sipag at Tiyaga-Search for the New Billiards Idol Special Edition completes the two-day event presented by Villards: Tulong sa Pagsulong ng Philippine Sports in cooperation with the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines and supported by Camella Communities, ABS-CBN, The Philippine Star and the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines.