THE highly anticipated inaugural season of the Sharks Billiards Association (SBA) will commence on September 18 at the state-of-the-art Sharks Arena & Sportsbar in 234 Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City.
Organized by SBA founder Hadley Mariano and sanctioned by the Games and Amusement Board (GAB), the league will run until December.
The Philippines’ finest professional pool sharks will showcase their skills and compete for glory in their respective teams, aiming to reign supreme in the sport where the likes of pool legend Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante were once kings.
The Quezon City Dragons and Taguig Stallions will kick off the season with a historic game opener on September 18 to 25.
The classic duel between Dragons’ top draft pick Jerico Bañares and Taguig’s top pick Rodrigo Geronimo will take place at the main table.
Week 1’s matchup will feature the QC Dragons’ fiery five of Jerico Bañares, John Rebong, Deanmark Castronuevo, Alexis Ferrer, and John Paul Ladao against the formidable Taguig Stallions of Rodrigo Geronimo, Demosthenes Pulpul, Bryant Saguiped, Mark Ejay Cunanan, and Michael Quinay.
Game 2, scheduled on September 25 to 29, will see the first-ever professional 9-ball billiards’ league match between Oliver Villafuerte’s Negros Occidental Pillars and Baseth Mocaibat’s Manila MSW Mavericks. Albert Espinola will lead the Pillars, while Jonas Magpantay will spearhead the Mavericks.
Game 3 will be played from October 2 to 6, while Game 4 will be contested from October 9 to 13.
The league’s top finishers in teams 1 and 2 will compete for the championship title from December 18 to 22.
In addition to Villafuerte, the Pillars’ roster includes Albert Espinola, Jonald Calve, Jolo Aspuria, and Mark Ryan Hidalgo.
The Mocaibat-led Mavericks team will be bolstered by Jonas Magpantay, John Albert Refulle, Drahcir Mauricio, and Tristan Deocarieza.
The Sharks’ first season will feature a 9-ball format with a few rule changes to add excitement. The loser of the lag will nominate a player first for the match, allowing the lag winner to strategize and choose the best matchup. The lag will be determined by a player selected by each coach before the match.
The winner of the break will rack the balls in a diamond shape, and the cue ball can be positioned anywhere behind the headstring.
Sharking, the act of deliberately trying to distract an opponent, will be allowed, including witty banter and friendly trash talking. However, sharking must stop once a player is in their shooting stance. The opposing team may shark or trash-talk between shots, but doing so while the shooter is in stance results in a foul and ball in hand. Offensive topics are banned, and the rules also apply to player-audience interactions.
A shot clock will be implemented, giving each player 40 seconds after the break and 30 seconds between shots. Each shooter will have one 15-second extension per rack.
Jump cues and cue extensions will not be allowed, ensuring fans can enjoy more magical and artistic shots throughout the season.
