Jose Parica - Professional Career

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.