MANILA, Philippines – Philippine billiards gets a needed shot in the arm with the holding of the first-ever professional pool league this year.
Four teams representing the country’s major islands Luzon, Visayas a nd Mindanao make up the initial cast competing in the inaugural Sharks Billiards Association.
Some of the finest players and rising stars of the sport will make up the composition of the pioneering teams, according to chief executive officer and founder Hadley Mariano, who was joined by Chief Operating Officer Mark Orendain, and Commissioner Chino Trinidad in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
“’Di ba ang hinihingi natin is a regionalistic flavor, so sabi ko ibigay na natin yan sa tatlong regions natin — Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao,” said Trinidad in the weekly session presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, Smart/PLDT and the leading sports entertainment gateway in the country ArenaPlus.
The fourth t eam is reserved for what Trinidad refers to as the “epicenter of billiards” in the country.
“Pag-uusapan pa namin kung ito ba ang sentro ng bilyar dito sa atin. Itong NCR ba o ang Pampanga ba? Kasi kahit saan ka magpunta, may nagbi-bilyar. Pero ano ang acknowledged na epicenter, is it Manila or is it somewhere in Pampanga na birthplace ni Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes,” said the former broadcaster and commissioner of the defunct Philippine Basketball League.
A draft pool will be held prior to the opening of the meet, but Mariano refused to name the players who have already committed to see action in the tournament.
“Marami akong nakikitang players na magaling pero hindi nabibigyan ng pagkakataon. So itong mga player na ito, gusto ko silang unahin kasi walang silang sponsor, wala silang manager, hindi makasali sa mga tournament,” he said. “So the league will start with players na hindi nakakalabas ng bansa. Pero definitely, these are top players (in the country).”
All players wil l have their respective salaries and contracts, and will undergo professional training.
Initially, five players will composed each team, before increasing its numbers to six and eight in the succeeding seasons.
The tournament format will have two teams facing each other in a week and involves competition in singles, doubles, and 5-on-5, with corresponding point system.
The first season will run up for three months.
“We’re targeting to start, roughly by August. Pero who knows, baka mas maaga pa tayong makapagsimula, e di mas masaya,” said Mariano, son of longtime billiards patron Perry Mariano.
Added Trinidad, “Super-excited akong masimulan ito dahil naniniwala ako na collectively, maibabangon ulit natin ang Philippine billiards.”
MANILA, Philippines – Former child actor and entrepreneur Nino Muhlach sold one of his trophies from the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (FAMAS) to Boss Toyo P500,000, but the latter said the trophy is “priceless”
Boss Toyo said he plans to display Muhlach’s FAMAS trophy at a museum he’s planning to put up.
In an episode of Pinoy Pawnstars last Monday, Boss Toyo haggled with Muhlach, who visited the content creator’s shop in Quezon City to personally hand over one of the five Best Child Performer trophies.
“Aalagaan mo yan, irerestore mo yan [Take care of that, restore it],” Muhlach told Boss Toyo.
Boss Toyo said that he wants to restore the trophy — one of Muhlach’s five FAMAS awards — to its former glory and showcase it in his planned museum alongside the award that Jiro Manio, another former child actor, sold to him a few months ago.
Muhlach said that it was Toyo who personally inquired about the award, and that he eventually decided to sell it to the content creator.
“I decided to give it to him, pero big deal, kailangan alagaan niya and i-restore nya and ilagay nya sa museum nya, dahil hindi ko na naalagaan. Yun ang deal namin [I decided to give it to him, but big deal because he needs to take care of it seriously, restore it and put it in his museum because I never take care of it. That’s our deal],” Muhlach said.
Boss Toyo said that Muhlach’s FAMAS award is one of his dream items, noting how the former child actor changed Filipino entertainment through his movies with legends like Fernando Poe Jr. and Dolphy.
“Ikaw ang barometer, pag sinabing ‘child actor’, tandaan natin, wala pa akong nakitang nakadaig sayo as a child actor [You are the barometer of a ‘child actor’ because we have to remember nobody does it better than you],” Toyo said.
Apart from the award, Muhlach gave Boss Toyo some of the theater lobby cards from the movies he starred in and produced.
Aside from acting, Muhlach runs several business outfits, including his El Nino Apartments and Muhlach Ensaymada.