Pagulayan Wins Guinness 9-Ball Singapore Leg
Alex Pagulayan of the Philippines ended the Chinese-Taipei stranglehold of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour after the former world pool champion defeated countryman Dennis Orcollo, 10-6, Sunday in the Singapore leg of the Tour at Velocity@Novena Square.
Taiwanese players have been dominating the Asian 9-ball circuit, sweeping all six legs last year and this season’s first three.
But Pagulayan and Orcollo have been in top form and the two Filipinos beat, coincidentally, two Chinese-Taipei players in the semis to set up the all-Filipino finals.
“It’s about time that the Philippines won because the Taiwanese kept on winning all the legs since last year," Pagulayan said.
"Everything went wrong for Dennis and all the rolls went my way. It feels good and extraordinary to beat the no.1 player in the world," the 2004 world champion added.
The last time a Filipino won a title on the Tour organized by ESPN STAR Sports was in 2006 when Efren "Bata" Reyes won in Jakarta.
Pagulayan reached the Finals after a 9–6 triumph over 2005 World Pool champion Wu Chia-Ching. Orcollo advanced following a down-the-wire 9–8 victory over Yang Ching-Shun.
Pagulayan trailed Orcollo, 2–0, but seized control of the match as he won the next five racks. Orcollo managed to make the game interesting, narrowing the deficit to 8–6 after capitalizing on a scratch by Pagulayan in the 14th rack.
But Pagulayan went on to win the next three tables off an Orcollo dry break in the 15th rack and a scratch in the 17th.
"I felt that they changed the way they set up the racks on the table," Orcollo said.
“Alex was really lucky and it seemed that he was motivated ever since the quarterfinals. I played my game, but sometimes it’s all about the breaks of the game," he added.
The Pagulayan-Orcollo match was the first between two Filipinos since Lee Van Cortez beat Francisco “Django" Bustamante in 2004.
Not counting an exhibition match in 2006, Pagulayan’s victory broke a tie between the Philippines and Chinese-Taipei for the most number of Guinness titles won since 2003. The Filipinos upped their card to 13-12.
No other country has won on Tour.
Pagulayan’s victory earned him $15,000 (P675,000). Orcollo, who entered the tournament as a wild card bet, settled for $6,000 (P270,000).Who Is Alex Pagulayan
Alejandro "Alex" Salvador Pagulayan, was born on June 25, 1978, Pagulayan is a Filipino-Canadian professional pocket billiards pool player. His nicknames are "The Lion" and "The Killer Pixie". He was born in Cabagan, Isabela, Philippines and was raised in Toronto, Canada.
Pagulayan's parents emigrated to Canada when he was 15 years old. His father managed a pool hall, so Pagulayan's exposure to the game came early. Though he was attracted to others sports, he thought his stature may not have been right. "I like a lot of sports, but with pool, you don't have to be physically tough. His main hot spot was the pool hall "Loma's."
Achievements
2008 World Pool Masters, Las Vegas, Nevada
2007 World Summit of Pool
2006 Philippine National Championship
2005 Philippines Snooker Team Gold Medal, SEA Games
2005 US Open Nine-ball Championship
2005 Derby City Classic Ten-ball Ring Game Champion
2005 SML Entertainment Nine-ball Champion
2004 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
2003 Joss Tour Grand Final Winner
2003 Carolinas Open Nine-ball Division, Goldsboro, North Carolina
2003 IBC Western Canadian Open
2002 World Pool Trickshot Champion
FYI - Behind Sports
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