Pagulayan the Man to Watch
Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan, a World Pool Championship in 2004, is the man to watch in the Cebu leg of the Senate President Manny Villar Billiards Cup at the Atrium of SM City Cebu on June 20 to 22.
Even though he played poorly in last week’s Guinness 9-Ball Tour at the Genting International Convention Center in Malaysia, I’m picking the 29-year-old Pagulayan to figure prominently in Cebu City against a star-studded field that includes the fabled Efren “Bata” Reyes and Ronnie Alcano, who are both former world champions; former world No. 1 Francisco “Django” Bustamante and current world No. 1 Dennis Orcollo.
Not to be ignored, too, is Cebu native and three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Warren Kiamco, who will be gunning for back-to-back wins after ruling the inaugural leg of this nationwide tour at the Star Mall in Muntinlupa City last May 10.
Despite Pagulayan’s loss to upcoming Marvin Gentapa of Cebu City and rising star Joven Bustamante in the recent Magnificent 7 Winner-Take-All 9-Ball Invitational in Mandaue City, Alex still managed to win the championship.
I feel Alex is well-placed to win in Cebu because he is playing on familiar territory.
Sometime last year, at the height of his falling out with the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines, Pagulayan proved his critics wrong by winning, with a flourish, a major tournament in Cebu.
While Pagulayan is not yet in the class of Hall of Famer Bata Reyes, Alex is pleasant to watch. He dazzles pool circles with his relentless, often comic, ways in establishing himself as a terror with the cue stick.
“I’m always nervous when I compete,” Pagulayan admitted. “However, I’m confident of doing well in this (Cebu) event.”
Not to be ignored, too, is Cebu native and three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Warren Kiamco, who will be gunning for back-to-back wins after ruling the inaugural leg of this nationwide tour at the Star Mall in Muntinlupa City last May 10.
Despite Pagulayan’s loss to upcoming Marvin Gentapa of Cebu City and rising star Joven Bustamante in the recent Magnificent 7 Winner-Take-All 9-Ball Invitational in Mandaue City, Alex still managed to win the championship.
I feel Alex is well-placed to win in Cebu because he is playing on familiar territory.
Sometime last year, at the height of his falling out with the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines, Pagulayan proved his critics wrong by winning, with a flourish, a major tournament in Cebu.
While Pagulayan is not yet in the class of Hall of Famer Bata Reyes, Alex is pleasant to watch. He dazzles pool circles with his relentless, often comic, ways in establishing himself as a terror with the cue stick.
“I’m always nervous when I compete,” Pagulayan admitted. “However, I’m confident of doing well in this (Cebu) event.”
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