Filipino players have dominated the American billiard scene in the past several years that billiard aficionados have called the phenomenon the “Filipino invasion.”

Veteran Jose “Amang” Parica blazed the trail in 1980 when, as a 31-year-old player looking for greater challenges, he came to America to compete professionally. In 1986, Parica finally broke the ice with his first pro tour victory at the World Open Child Clydress tournament in Kentucky. He followed it up with another victory a week later in the World Classic Cup V, and another win that same year.

From then on, the Filipino was recognized as a world-class billiard player. Many other Filipinos followed Parica’s trail, but Efren “Bata” Reyes, Parica’s arch rival even in the Philippines, was the most successful, next to Parica. Reyes first competed in 1983. Francisco Bustamante, the latest of the Filipino trio that has shaken U.S. billiards to its feet, first competed in the U.S. in 1992.

All three have been named Player of the Year, which made them the world’s No. 1 ranked player during the year in review. Reyes was Player of the Year in 1995, when the premier Camel Pro-Billiards Series was not yet in place. Parica, who was only in his second year of comeback after a two-year hiatus, was named Player of the Year in 1997, and Bustamante was Player of the Year last year.

Many other Filipinos compete regularly in the U.S. billiard tour, like Rodolfo Luat, Ramil Gallegos, Santos Sambajon Jr., Antonio Lining, Victor Ignacio and Alex Pagulayan, but Parica, Reyes and Bustamante continue to be ranked among the best in the world. A billiard tournament is not considered strong unless it has at least one or two of these three Filipino players.

It was, therefore, inevitable that two of the three would face each other in the finals of the latest and one of the biggest tournaments this year. Parica and Bustamante completed the Filipino invasion with an all-Filipino finals in the First Western Open 9-ball Championship at the Crystal Park Casino and Hotel in Compton last August 16.

Reyes, who was the top favorite and the main attraction in the tournament’s poster, could not play because he was competing for the Philippine team in the Southeast Asian Games in Brunei.

Parica, who is now based in West Covina, California ,emerged victorious, beating the Germany-based Bustamante in an exciting contest, 15-12, and proving once and for all that he was not yet over the hill. Many billiard aficionados thought Parica’s career was on the wane after a disappointing performance last year, just one year after winning nine tournaments and being named Player of the Year by all award-giving bodies — Billiards Magazine, Billiards Digest and Camel Pro-Billiards Series.

Parica won $10,000, his first victory this year. The 50-year-old Parica defeated Jo-Ka-Nim, Tony Ellin (11-3), 1996 Player of the Year Johnny Archer (11-7), lost to Shannon Daulton (8-11), then defeated Charlie Williams (11-3), fellow Filipino Victor Ignacio (11-2), and Daulton (11-4) in the semifinals, setting him up for a face-off with Bustamante, who remained the only unbeaten player before the finals.

Bustamante was slightly favored to win over Parica, but the sturdy veteran turned the tables on Bustamante at once with a perfect break that sent the 9-ball in the right corner pocket, 1-0. Bustamante, the more methodical player, tied the score twice, at 1-1 and 2-2, before Parica took the next three games, 5-2. Bustamante then took the next four games to wrest the lead, 7-5. Parica wrested back the lead, 9-8, but Bustamante evened up again twice, at 11-11 and 12-12, before Parica swept the last three games, the last in grand fashion, when he sank the 9-ball using the 4-ball, 15-12.

The match was interrupted by constant cheers and applause by the jampacked crowd, about half of them Filipinos who came everyday to watch the seven Filipinos who competed in the tournament. Six of the seven ended up in the money list, with Ignacio, who is now based in San Diego and who was the dark horse in the tournament, surprising everybody with a strong fourth-place finish.

The other Filipino money winners, aside from Parica, Bustamante and Ignacio, were Ramil Gallego, who was identified by Parica as the one with the best potential among the new crop of players; Santos Sambajon Jr. and Antonio Lining. Only the 21-year-old Alex Pagulayan, who is based in Toronto, Canada, failed to land in the money list.

Next stop for the Filipino group, which is unofficially called in the circuit Team Philippines, is Nashville, Tennessee, for the fourth leg of the 9-leg Camel Pro-Billiards Series, the premier circuit in the United States. Reyes and Luat are expected to join the group in Nashville.

Then, most of the Filipino players, including Parica, Reyes and Bustamante, will compete in the prestigious U.S. Open in Houston, Texas on Sept. 21-26.

During the opening night, Team Philippines defeated Team USA, 7-5, in an exhibition match that gave the crowd an idea of how the tournament would end up. The “Filipino Invasion” was on