By James Sablan
james@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
LAST Shot Hobbies Shark repeated history as back-to-back champions last week after delivering a dominant performance against Last Shot Golden Breakers, reaching the race-to-nine threshold with minimal resistance, 9-3, during the Tuesday Division Budweiser Cup of the 2025 SBA Budweiser Open 8-Ball League at the Last Shot Bar.
The Golden Breakers showed early resistance with a split in the opening Partners 8-Ball set — Franklin Osin and Ruel Agosto claiming one game while Shark’s Marc Brian Nelvis and Drake Taitano snagged the other — resulting in the first deadlock of the night, 1-1.
Rickson “En En” Sajul tried to keep the Golden Breakers afloat with a solo win in the next Singles 8-Ball set. However, the team was soon overwhelmed by Shark’s individual performances, as Rolly Villanueva, Nelvis, and PJ Ramos dominated their respective opponents in a 3-1 run, tightening their grip on the lead, 4-2.
A wave of momentum then followed as Shark stuck to their winning lineup. The untouchable pair of Nelvis and Taitano, along with the duo of Ramos and Frankie Blas, extended the pressure with a two-win sweep in the second Partners 8-Ball set. The first pair’s perfect 4-0 run in doubles play gave Shark a commanding advantage that the Golden Breakers could never recover from.
Despite Sajul’s continued effort to keep his team within reach with another solo win in the second Singles 8-Ball set, the Golden Breakers struggled to find consistency. They managed to scrape together only three total wins, while Shark’s Nolan Cultura joined Blas and Ramos in collecting the remaining games needed to secure the victory early — leaving the last two sets untouched and clinching the Tuesday Division Budweiser Cup, as well as the regular season crown, for the second straight year.
Last Shot Hobbies Shark’s roster consists of Nolan Cultura, Rolly Villanueva, Marc Brian Nelvis, Frankie Blas, Drake Taitano, Gerald Cubal, and PJ Ramos.
James Sablan has been a sports reporter for Variety since 2013. He was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College and covers all local sports.
