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 Jose
Parica, the King and Legend of Philippine Billiards, is of the most devastating
offensive weapons in billiards. This Philippine Hall of Famer pioneered the
Philippino invasion in the United States and brought the game of 9-ball to a
higher level.
He became the World Player of the Year in 1997. He was the first player to
shoot a perfect game of 1,000 points, which was a World Record in 9-Ball race
to 11 format. Jose was the only Phillipino to win all major final titles against
his Philippino counter part.
Early years
Jose "Amang" Parica had to pull a stool every time it was his turn
to make a shot when he first played billiards at his father’s billiard
hall in Blumentritt back in the Philippines. He was just seven years old when
he first struck a cue ball with a cue that was much longer than he was, on a
billiard table that was just as high as he was. Parica literally grew up with
a cue in his hands.
Parica sharpened his skills in the billiard halls his father owned in Blumentritt
and in Sta. Cruz in Manila. Soon, he was beating much older people. He had won
all the tournaments that had to be won in the Philippines, but he felt he still
did not earn the recognition he felt he deserve. Finally, in 1975, he got his
break.
Professional career
A Japanese billiard player and promoter was looking for a Filipino player to
compete in a tournament in Japan, and went looking for a guy known only as "Amang."
Word got around fast, and soon Parica was on his way to Japan for his first
major tournament outside the Philippines. By then, Parica was already 25. He
bagged fourth place in the Tokyo International Open that year, and got invited
to the tournament every year.
In 1976, Parica, hoping to get a better deal for Filipino billiard players,
organized the Philippine Pocket Billiards Association and he became its first
president.
In 1978, he got enough sponsors to compete in his first-ever tournament in
the United States, the World Open Straight Pool Championship which was dominated
by Ray Martin. He was the only Filipino in the tournament, and got the attention
of the billiard world by placing in a tie for 9th to 12th places.
In 1979, Parica was the Philippine's National 3-Cushion Champion, Rotation
Champion, and Snooker Champion.
Parica competed under the Men’s Professional Billiards Association for
years, but did not win a U.S. title until 1986, when he won the World Open 9
Ball Child Cypress in Lexington. He followed it up with a victory in the World
Classic Cup title in Aurora, Illinois.
In 1987, Parica went back to the Philippines to display new skills he had learned
from the world’s best players, and to encourage Filipino players to compete
in the prestigious and financially-rewarding U.S. billiard circuit. Parica had
blazed the trail, and had actually paved the way with gold by gaining respect
from the Filipino players. He wanted other Filipinos to follow his trail to
world success.
Soon, Filipino players Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django"
Bustamante joined Parica in lording over the American circuit. Without realizing
it, Parica had led what American billiard aficionados call the "Filipino
Invasion."
Parica had won close to one hundred tournaments in the U.S., thirteen in Japan,
and three in the Philippines (the 1980, 1989 and 1992 Philippine Nine-ball Open
Championships). In 1988, Parica dominated the Japanese circuit, winning eight
of the nine tournaments he competed in, and placing 2nd in the other. That same
year, he won the World Pro Tournament, the biggest and richest tournament in
that time, by beating arch-rival Reyes 9-3 in the finals. The tournament was
played in Tokyo and had 900 players. Parica earned the first prize of ¥5M.
That year, Parica had total winnings of $289K.
Parica achieved one of the most revered records in pool, and was the only player
to win a perfect run out match of nine-ball under race-to-11 format without
misses or fouls.
He won three more tournaments in 1989, but the star of Reyes was beginning
to shine, and that of Parica to fade. In 1994, Parica married Aurora
and retired from active competition. He had a lot of savings from his billiard
earnings, and he decided he did not want to travel constantly anymore.
Comeback
Parica was content with playing billiards privately and wading in the pool of
his 5-bedroom house in West Covina, until one day, while they were in Las Vegas,
his wife Aurora overheard a Filipino say that Efren Reyes was the best Filipino
player ever, and that Reyes could beat any Filipino, including Parica. Reyes
had been named Player of the Year in 1995. Aurora told Parica
what she heard, and convinced him to play competitively again, just to prove
that he is not yet over the hill. Parica took it as a challenge and as a go-signal
from his wife to resume his suspended billiards career.
In late 1996, Parica resumed playing in the U.S. circuit. He lost twice to
Reyes that year, and also lost to American ace Johnny Archer, who emerged Player
of the Year in 1996. But Parica still managed to win four
tournaments that year, against Reyes’ three.
Parica showed his fighting heart by coming back in 1997 to beat Reyes six in
a row, and Archer seven times. Parica won five tournaments that year and emerged
No. 1 in world ratings. Parica even won the Camel Overall Bonus of $50K. He
proved he was still among the best in the world by being chosen Player of the
Year in 1997 by three award-giving bodies — Billiards magazine, Billiards
Digest magazine, and the Camel Pro Billiards Series (the richest and most prestigious
circuit in the US at that time).
Parica and Reyes faded again in 1998, as the rising Francisco Bustamante dominated
the circuit, by winning three of the Camel Circuit’s eight legs, and placing
second in two. Bustamante won the Player of the Year honors that year.[attribution
needed]
After three tournaments in the Camel Circuit, Parica ranked 9th place with
130 points, with Bustamante at 6th and 170 points. Reyes, who missed one tournament
when he represented the Philippines in Brunei, was considerably behind, with
only 80 points. Reyes, however, was expected to come back strong after winning
the World Nine-ball Open in London in early August.
Parica finished in a tie for 7th and 8th in the first leg of the tour, in Kansas;
13th in Atlanta; and 32nd in Las Vegas, which Reyes did not compete in.
With his convincing victory in the Compton event, where six of the seven Filipinos
who competed finished in the money list, Parica advanced to the next leg, at
Nashville, Tennessee starting 14 September, and later at the prestigious U.S.
Open in Houston, Texas on September 25-26.
At age 50, having played billiards for 43 years, and having more than 100 titles
under his belt, Parica has not announced any plans to retire. In 2006, he won
the $40K First Western Open Nine-ball Championship at the Crystal Park Casino
and Hotel in Compton, beating Francisco Bustamante in the finals, 15-12.
However, when he participated in the 2006 IPT North American Open Eight-ball
Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, he was eliminated in the first round, winning
only $2,000.00 for his effort. He fared better at the IPT World Open Eight-ball
Championship in Reno, Nevada, where he reached the 4th round and won $22,322.00.
Heightened rivalry toward Reyes
Years before, Parica has been known to have bested Efren Reyes countless
times, especially in money matches. During his prime, from
the 1970s to the mid-1990s, Parica wasn't just a dominant player but a well-admired
figure of the Philippine public.
After Reyes won the World Nine-ball Championship in 1999 and numerous events
later, Reyes was enshrined in the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame
in 2003. Parica has expressed dismay at this honor, feeling that his great achievements
have been forgotten because of Reyes, and that he, too, should be inducted into
the Hall of Fame.
U.S. Open
One of Parica's ambitions is to win the US Open Nine-ball Championship just
as his compatriot Efren Reyes did in 1994. In 2003, Parica got his first shot
at the title, but lost it to Jeremy Jones, 11-4.
In the 2005 event, he bested Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante, 11-9 and
11-10, respectively, but lost the final 6-11 to Alex Pagulayan.
Career history
2005 U.S. Open, 2nd place
2004 Joss Northeast Nine-ball Tour, November 20-21 Stop, Berlin, Connecticut,
first place
2004 Brunswick Men's Pro Player Championship, 2nd place
2003 Great Seminole Senior Open, 1st place
2003 Pechauer Nine-ball West Coast Tour, Season Finale, 1st place
2003 Derby City Classic, One-pocket Champion
2003 Derby City Classic, Over-all Bonus Round, 2nd place
2003 US Open, 2nd place
2003 Joss Northeast Nine-ball Tour, Stop 2, 1st place
2003 Joss Northeast Nine-ball Tour, Stop 4, 1st place
2003 Joss Northeast Nine-ball Tour, Stop 5, 2nd place
2003 Joss Northeast Nine-ball Tour, Season Finale, 2nd place
2003 Joss Northeast Nine-ball Tour, Stop 20, 2nd place
2003 Predator Atlanta Nine-ball Open, 2nd place
2002 Derby City Classic, All-around Champion
2002 Derby City Classic, One-pocket Division, 2nd place
2002 Capital City Classic, One-pocket Champion
2002 Hard Times Summer Jamboree, One-pocket Champion
2002 Joss Northeast Nine-ball Tour, Stop 24, 2nd place
2002 Atlanta Pro Open, 2nd place
2002 Senior Masters III, 2nd place
2001 Derby City Classic, Nine-ball Banks Champion
2001 Karabatsos Invitational Tournament, 2nd place.
2001 BCA Open Nine-ball Championship, Men's Division, 2nd place
2001 Reno Open, 2nd place
2000 Hard Times Winter Jamboree, Nine-ball Division, 1st place
2000 Joss Northeast Nine-ball Tour, Stop 11, 1st place
2000 Joss Northeast Tour Nine-ball, Stop 4, 2nd place
2000 Joss Northeast Nine-ball Tour, Stop 13, 2nd place
1998 8th Annual Andy Mercer Memorial Nine-ball Classic
1997 PBT Legends of Nine-ball, 1st place
1997 Camel Overall Winner
1997 Camel Boston Open, 1st place
1997 Camel South Jersey Open, 1st place
1997 PCA Sharky's Challenge, 1st place
1996 PBT Darafeev Pro Nine-ball Classic, 1st place
1996 Lion's Den Tournament, Las Vegas, NV
1996 Shooter's Open Championships
1995 On Cue Billiards Tournament, La Mesa, CA
1994 Tommy's Billiards Tournament, Mesa, AZ
World Team Championship (Team Philippines)
1992 Philippine Nine-ball Open Championship
1991 Florida State Open
1991 Ohio State Open
1990 Tennessee Bar Table Championship
1990 Florida State Open
1990 Ohio State Open
1990 World Pro Nine-ball Championship (Japan)
1990 Jupiter Open
1989 World Pro Nine-ball Championship (Japan)
1989 International Open Nine-ball
1989 Philippine Nine-ball Open Cahmpionship
1988 Gandy Open
1988 Japan Open
1988 World Pro Tournament
1988 Gandy Open
1986 Great American Open
1986 Clyde Childress Open, Classic Cup V USPPA Pro, first place
1982 Playboy All-around Classic
1980 International, Taiwan, All-around Champion
1980 Philippine Nine-ball Open Championship
1979 Japan Open
1978 International, Japan, All-around Champion
Philippine Hall of Fame awardee
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