Pacquiao hosting rich National Open billiards

MANILA, Philippines — After boxing and basketball, billiards is Manny Pacquiao’s other passion.

Fact is, the eight-division world champion is hosting the $150,000 (about P6.7 million) Philippine Open 10-Ball Championship slated Dec. 8 to 16 at SM City in General Santos City.

This after staging a smaller tournament last September, which saw German Thorsten Hohmann emerge individual champion and Jeffrey Ignacio and Jeffrey De Luna bag the doubles’ title.

Hohmann, a two-time world 9-ball titlist, will defend the crown he narrowly won at the expense of Roberto Gomez (13-12) against a stellar field to be led by American Shane Van Boening.

Joining Boening, the three-time and current US Open champion (2012-2014), in the fold are notables Mika Immonen of Finland, Rodney Morris of the USA, John Morra of Canada and Asia’s dangerous pool sharks.

The event coincides with Pacquiao’s 36th birthday celebration.

The singles event, to be held Dec. 8 to 11, offers a $50,000 champion’s purse while the doubles event from Dec. 12 to 16, dangles $100,000 to the winner.

Van Boening and Dennis Orcollo, the 2011 world 8-ball champion, will team up in the doubles event.

Buddies Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante, the two-time World Cup champions, will team up anew in the doubles competition. They will also play in the singles event.