# Sharks Billiards Association

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Professional nine-ball billiards league

Sharks Billiards Association Most recent season or competition: 2025–26 SBA season Sport Nine-ball Founded May 6, 2024; 2 years ago (2024-05-06) COO Hadley Mariano Commissioner Hadley Mariano No. of teams 6 Country Philippines Headquarters Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City Most recent champions Taguig Stallions (1st title)

The **Sharks Billiards Association** (**SBA**) is a professional [nine-ball](/source/Nine-ball) league in the [Philippines](/source/Philippines) consisting of six teams.

The league's games are played at Sharks Arena, an indoor venue located at [Tomas Morato Avenue](/source/Tomas_Morato_Avenue) in [Quezon City](/source/Quezon_City).

## History

### As the Sharks Billiard League

The Sharks Billiards Association was originally established in [Quezon City](/source/Quezon_City) as the Sharks Billiards League (SBL) by Hadley Mariano in partnership with the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines (BMPAP). It was founded in November 2022 by billiards promoter Perry Mariano and sports patrons [Putch Puyat](/source/Putch_Puyat), Isaac Belmonte and Jonathan Sy of BMPAP, and new officials Mon Aguirre, Larry Lim, Hadley Mariano, Jojo Sanchez, and Eric Salud.[1]

With United Kingdom-based [Matchroom](/source/Matchroom_Sport), the SBL organized the 2023 Sharks International Open at the Great White Arena in [Quezon City](/source/Quezon_City). It was won by Taiwanese player [Ko Ping-chung](/source/Ko_Ping-chung).[2][3]

### Foundation of a professional league

On May 6, 2024, the league was renamed the Sharks Billiards Association (SBA). It also now accredited by the [Games and Amusements Board](/source/Games_and_Amusements_Board). Sports columnist [Chino Trinidad](/source/Chino_Trinidad) was the league's inaugural commissioner until his death on July 13, 2024.[4][5][6][7]

On August 18, 2024, the league had its inaugural draft at [Gateway Mall](/source/Gateway_Mall_(Quezon_City)) in [Quezon City](/source/Quezon_City). Jericho Bañares was selected by the Quezon City Dragons with the first pick.[8] The inaugural champions are the Taguig Stallions who won three of their five games against Manila MSW Mavericks in the finals series.[9]

In April 2025, the SBA secured a partnership with [People's Television Network](/source/People's_Television_Network) as they launch the 2025 Philippine Open.[10][11]

The 2025 draft is scheduled to take place on July 29, 2025 and the second season proper in September 2025.[12]

## Teams

Team Locality Joined Makati Titans Makati 2025 Manila MSW Mavericks Manila 2024 Negros Occidental Pillars Negros Occidental 2024 Parañaque Kings Parañaque 2025 Quezon City Dragons Quezon City 2024 Taguig Stallions Taguig 2024

## Format

### Regular season

**Game structure**

Similar format to the [Mosconi Cup](/source/Mosconi_Cup), each game consists of five nine-ball matches spread across a five-day period, each with a different format.[8]

- King of the Hill (5v5) – Each team will nominate one player to begin the match. Once a rack is completed, the losing team will send another player for the next rack. Once all five players have played, referred to as a "cycle", all players can be nominated to play again. The first team to score 15 racks wins and earns five points.

- Doubles (2v2) – Each team will nominate two players to begin the match. Once a rack is completed, the losing team will send another two players for the next rack. The first team to score 13 racks wins and earns five points.

- Singles (1v1) – Each team will nominate a player that will play the entire match. The first player to score 13 racks wins and earns three points for his team. Each team is required to send one player to a singles match once during the season before nominating them again.

**Sharking**

During the games, players may [trash talk](/source/Trash_talk) their opponents, known as "sharking", before the shooter gets in a shooting stance.[8][13]

**Game rules**

- After the lag, the losing team nominates first. The winner then selects a player and breaks first.[8]

- A 9-ball is racked on the spot, and the cue ball must placed on center for break.

- A 40-second shot clock applied after the break, then 30-second shot clock after shot.

- Each team gets one 15 second extension per rack.

- Failing to strike a cue ball after the buzzer is considered foul.

- Each team gets two 2-minute timeout per match.

- Jump shots are illegal.

## Championships

Main Season Season Champion Score Runner-up MVP Ref. 1 2024 Taguig Stallions 3–2 Manila MSW Mavericks Rodrigo Geronimo [9]

Philippine Open Season Champion Score Runner-up Ref. 1 2025 Anton Raga 13–6 Jerico Bañares [14]

## Commissioners

- [Chino Trinidad](/source/Chino_Trinidad) (May 7, 2024–July 13, 2024)

- Hadley Mariano

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Ulanday, John Bryan (December 29, 2022). ["Sharks out to reignite Philippine billiards"](https://www.philstar.com/sports/2022/12/29/2233942/sharks-out-reignite-philippine-billiards). *[The Philippine Star](/source/The_Philippine_Star)*. Retrieved April 15, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["How the Sharks International Open is trying to jump start Philippine pool"](https://www.espn.com.sg/story/_/id/38064539/sharks-international-open-trying-jump-start-philippine-pool). *[ESPN.com](/source/ESPN.com)*. July 24, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-sharks-9_3-0)** Payo, Jasmine (August 12, 2023). ["Sharks 9-ball looks to revive local pool scene"](https://web.archive.org/web/20230813014718/https://www.rappler.com/sports/sharks-9-ball-looks-revive-local-billiards-scene/). *[Rappler](/source/Rappler)*. Archived from [the original](https://www.rappler.com/sports/sharks-9-ball-looks-revive-local-billiards-scene/) on August 13, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Sharks Billiards Association to 'revive' pool action in PHL"](https://www.bworldonline.com/sports/2024/05/07/593366/sharks-billiards-association-to-revive-pool-action-in-phl/). *[BusinessWorld](/source/BusinessWorld)*. May 7, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Sharks Announces New Commissioner And Game Format"](https://journal.com.ph/sharks-announces-new-commissioner-and-game-format/). *Journal Online*. May 7, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Sharks Billiards Association is 1st-ever pro pool league in Philippines"](https://www.philstar.com/sports/2024/05/14/2355056/sharks-billiards-association-1st-ever-pro-pool-league-philippines). *[The Philippine Star](/source/The_Philippine_Star)*. May 14, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Agcaoili, Lance (July 14, 2024). ["Chino Trinidad, veteran sports journalist, dies at 56"](https://sports.inquirer.net/574396/chino-trinidad-veteran-sports-journalist-passes-away). *[Philippine Daily Inquirer](/source/Philippine_Daily_Inquirer)*. Retrieved April 15, 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-mega_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-mega_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-mega_8-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-mega_8-3) Guerrero, Bob (August 25, 2024). ["Can Sharks Billiards Make Team Pool Work?"](https://thegame-onemega.com/features/can-sharks-billiards-make-team-pool-work/). *The Game*. One Mega Group Inc.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-inaugural-champ_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-inaugural-champ_9-1) ["Taguig Stallions are inaugural Sharks Billiards champs"](https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2024/12/21/taguig-stallions-are-inaugural-sharks-billiards-champs-1314). *[ABS-CBN News](/source/ABS-CBN_News)*. December 21, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["SBA Philippine Billiards Open launched"](https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/04/15/sports/sba-philippine-billiards-open-launched/2091954). *[The Manila Times](/source/The_Manila_Times)*. April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 15, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Villar, Joey (April 14, 2025). ["Billiards body wants to be NBA of cue sports"](https://www.philstar.com/about-us/sports/2025/04/14/2435956/billiards-body-wants-be-nba-cue-sports). *[The Philippine Star](/source/The_Philippine_Star)*. Retrieved April 15, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["Bigger, better Sharks Billiards Association season looms"](https://www.philstar.com/sports/2025/06/17/2451278/bigger-better-sharks-billiards-association-season-looms). *The Philippine Star*. June 17, 2025. Retrieved June 19, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Villar, Joey (March 9, 2026). ["Pool patron Mariano not a fan of 'sharking'"](https://www.philstar.com/sports/2026/03/09/2513068/pool-patron-mariano-not-fan-sharking). *Philstar.com*. Retrieved March 10, 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Malanum, Jean (April 28, 2025). ["Cebu pride Raga rules SBA PH Open"](https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1248874). *[Philippine News Agency](/source/Philippine_News_Agency)*. Retrieved April 28, 2025.

## External links

- [Sharks Billiards Association](https://www.facebook.com/sharksbilliardsassociation) on [Facebook](/source/Facebook_(identifier))

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sharks Billiards Association](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharks_Billiards_Association) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharks_Billiards_Association?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.