Mandaluyong Mayor’s Cup

Billiards tournament

Antonio Gabica wins, Marlon Manalo, a Mandaluyong native, places second. $10,000 of the $30,000 prize money goes to Gabica after finishing the 10-ball match with a very convincing 13-8 score. Apart from Gabica and Manalo, other big names who participated in the tournament include Jeffrey de Luna, Leonardo Andam, Leonardo Didal, and of course the foreigners – Johnny Archer, Thorsten Hohmann and Satoshi Kawabata. The tournament was organized by Raya Sports and BSCP in cooperation with Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos.

About the tournament, etc.

I proceeded directly to Mandaluyong after enjoying an early afternoon of knockout stages in Starmall, Alabang on May 8. Like I said in my previous post, the set-up of the Mandaluyong Mayor’s Cup is nothing compared to the Manny Villar Cup. Mandaluyong City Hall is a one-of-a-kind city hall. The place is well lit and ventilated (cool), and organizers seem well-prepared, with big-sreen (projector) scoreboards and audience etiquette banners. It is said that this tournament has been planned months ago and the other, just 2 weeks prior. Mandaluyong Mayor’s Cup however, got better nationwide coverage with Studio 23, compared to Manny Villar Cup’s Solar Sports. If not for Manny Villar Cup’s player-hoarding, this tournament would have been perfect.

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