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.
