MOST IMPROVED PLAYER,
MEN: RONNIE ALCANO.

Alcano once so revered Efren Reyes that he reportedly had all of his teeth removed so he could better resemble his hero. (Apparently, he didn’t have many teeth to begin with.) Alcano, 34, emerged from Reyes’ oversized shadow in a big way in 2006, besting “Bata” at the World Pool Championship in Manila on his way to the $100,000 title. That win came after his strong showings on the IPT (ranked No. 14). We’d seen Ronnie before, but his game never had this much bite.

THE YEAR’S BIGGEST STORY:

The Philippines Rules Pool.Yes, we all knew that the Philippines produced more than its fair share of world-class players.

But in 2006, the “Philippine Invasion” turned into a full-on Occupation. In addition to established names like Reyes, Bustamante and Pagulayan, players such as Dennis Orcollo, Ronnie Alcano, Marlon Manalo and Rodolfo Luat terrorized the men’s circuit.
Consider this:
There was at least one Filipino in the final of the five richest events of the year, and three were won by Filipinos (Efren Reyes: IPT World Open, $500,000,
and World Cup of Pool, w / F r a n c i s c o
Bustamante $60,000; Ronnie Alcano: World Pool Championship, $100,000). At the IPT North American Open, there were seven Filipinos left in the final 18, although the country’s contingent accounted for a mere 6 percent of the 200-player field. Even more frightening, the notoriously freewheeling country recently began a push to organize and train players,
bringing to light a whole new wave of talents who were on display at this year’s World Pool Championship in Manila. That the WPC will likely remain on the island nation for 2007 is no comfort to the rest of the globe.

MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE,
MEN: EFREN REYES, IPT WORLD OPEN 8- BALL CHAMPIONSHIP.

The IPT’s two events in 2006 were valuable for a number of reasons, such as providing an acid test for the game’s best pressure players. With a record-shattering $500,000 on the line in the World Open final, and after a grueling week of playing 10 to 12 hours per day, 52-year-old Reyes shook off the fatigue and expectations to bag the biggest prize in pool history. Too bad he didn’t walk off with the money case when he had the chance.

BREAKOUT PLAYER OF THE YEAR,
MEN: DENNIS ORCOLLO.

With a rags-to-riches story to rival countryman Efren Reyes, 28-year-old Orcollo positioned himself this year at the crest of the latest wave of Filipino cue
w i z a r d s . Landing on the West Coast early in the
year, the former fisherman proceeded to snag seemingly every major event north of Baja. After
p l o w i n g through an IPT tour-card qualifier at Hard Times Billiards, he recorded third- and fifth-place finishes on the tour, second only to Reyes for overall performance. His 2006 riches: $202,500 in total winnings — fourth-best among pros.

MAN OF THE YEAR: YEN MAKABENTA.

It’s hard to believe, but the Philippines has been churning out worldclass pro pool players for the last two decades with no meaningful assistance from government sports agencies. That changed this year when the Billiard and Snooker Congress of the Philippines decided to get serious by staging pro events, starting a national billiard academy to develop new players, and creating an official ranking
system. All this came under the watch of new BSCP chairman Makabenta, who also did the heavy lifting necessary to bring the World Pool Championship to the Philippines for the first time. His sports promotions firm, Raya Sports & Events, paid a $1.1 million site fee and spent another $200,000 to stage the event in the pool-crazy island nation. Knowing Raya would lose money on its first attempt, Makabenta took a $100,000 hit but laid the groundwork for hosting the WPC in 2007 as well. With nearly three generations of great Pinoy players in good stroke all at once, and the strength of an egalitarian promoter and government agency behind
them, it looks like the Philippines will be the epicenter of international pool for the foreseeable future.