Fil-Canadian is world pool champ

Alex Pagulayan

A battery of four Taiwanese pool aces, a partisan crowd, and a parched throat.

Fil-Canadian Alex Pagulayan managed to survive them all and gave free rein to a mix of Western and Asian playing style, thus enabling him to crown himself World Pool Champion last week after a tense final match against Pei Wei Chang.

The competition was held July 10 to 18 at the World Trade Center in Taipei.

Alex the Lion, as he is fondly called in his adopted country, is a typical 26-year-old. He loves to party until the wee hours of the night, but this time he felt he needed to stay away from alcohol and concentrate on the game day after day during the week-long tournament.

How did Alex earn the moniker? It’s rather simple. In the Toronto pool circuit, friends and foes alike found it hard to pronounce Pagulayan. Pretty soon they started calling him by what the last two syllables of the name sounded like, the king of the jungle.

Alex fell short against Thorsten Hohmann in the final match last year. He had nightmares about the German cue ace the eve of the title duel and that drove him to drink a little too much. Now, with more practice time and zero alcohol—he claimed for two weeks -- he clinched the plum with a 17-13 victory.

“I actually had a large side bet on myself to win the event,” Alex let on. “I felt this was my time. I needed only to practice hard. And switch to plain water,” he added with a guffaw.

Alex, born in Cabagan, Isabela, emigrated with his parents when he was 13. Now a Canadian citizen, he lives in Toronto. But the bubbly fellow is proud of his roots.

“I am 110 percent Filipino,” he said. “I dedicate this win to the Filipinos who have been supporting and praying for me all the way.”

The day after bagging the pool championship, he flew in to make a courtesy call on Manila Mayor Lito Atienza. In an interview later, he expressed delight over the beautiful changes made on Roxas Boulevard. He said he would use part of the $75,000 prize money to buy a condominium unit in the city, after settling $30,000 in debts.

“I’m lucky to have spent some time here,” said the champ, who shuttles between Toronto and Manila. “Nakita ko ang kagandahan ng lungsod. Ngayon balak kong dito na lang tumira.”

With Mayor Lito Atienza

Alex beat three other Taiwanese pool aces en route to the final match. One of his victimswas two-time champion Fong Pang Chao. He is on top of the pool circuit right now. Still, he told his well-wishers, he is awed by the Filipinos’ playing style. He said the same thing last year during interviews between games.

“They are a joy to watch,” he said. “I’ve played money matches against them before and I’ve never beaten any of them!”

The RP contingent was one of the biggest in the 128-man field, but All-Filipino clashes saw the number go down as early as the third round.

Efren “Bata” Reyes, the 1999 world pool titleholder, hurdled the group stages but eventually bowed out of the game. So did Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Warren Kiamco, Dennis Orcullo, Antonio Lining, Antonio Gabica, former Asian Games winner Gandy Valle, Ramil Gallego, Rodolfo “Boy Samson” Luat, Lee Van Corteza, and Marlon Manalo.

Former Asian snooker champ Manalo knocked off Bustamante in the last 32 games and proceeded to boot out another big name, Reyes, in the round of 16. It was Manalo’s last win, however, as he failed to live up to expectations, bowing in the next round to Sweden’s Marcus Chamat.

In the end it was the diminutive Filipino-Canadian who would lift the trophy high.

To the delight of the crowd, Alex did a somersault and a jig after pocketing the final ball. He motioned the pretty game announcer, who was busy describing his antics, to give him a buss. Not only did the girl oblige, she also indicated she wanted the same. The champ gave it to her.

A small group of Filipinos at the stands, who held aloft cardboard banners that say Alex, suportahan taka and We love U Alex all throughout the game, exchanged high fives with the newly crowned pool king.

The game announcer noted that fans must be dancing in the streets of Toronto. That may be true, but it was in pool-crazy Metro Manila, where bars, which usually serve only a few guests on Sundays, had to accommodate
a jampacked crowd that stayed around until the wee hours of Monday to watch the game and celebrate the victory.

“Kahit Canadian citizen, Pilipino pa rin ’yan,” said Luis, a 42-year-old cab driver who took a break from work to watch the match at a Malate watering hole. A waiter at the place echoed the sentiment, saying, “Pilipino yan. Nagta-Tagalog nga, eh.”

After the game Alex announced he would love to play for the Philippines next time. If that happens two Filipino champions would make up the RP contingent next year. The current champ and Reyes would join others in the elite circle of world pool’s best in the battle.

But that will be next year. For the moment, Alex wants to savor his victory. Holding up a frosted mug after the game, he said it was his first beer in two weeks.

“The best I’ve ever had,” he told admiring fans.

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