Pagulayan enters semis of Guinness 9-Ball Tour

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ Alex Pagulayan entered the semi-final phase of the Singapore leg of the Guinness 9-Ball Tour 2008 Saturday held at the Velocity@Novena Square. Pagulayan, a former world champion, posted a 9-4 win over Nguyen Anh Tuan of Vietnam in the quarterfinals to reach the Final Four round of the tournament. Pagulayan quickly distanced himself against his Vietnamese foe, 4-1, that proved to be enough cushion even if Nguyen rallied that saw him threatening at 6-4. Pagulayan then bagged a semis berth by winning the next three racks. “It was a big help that he missed some shots because I was struggling a bit. I played better yesterday because my opponents also played better. In a way, Nguyen had some difficulty because probably, it’s his first time on TV while in competition. I made my shots but I didn’t feel good today," said Pagulayan in a press statement. Pagulayan nearly failed to advance to the Last 8 after splitting his group stage matches. However, he won the tie-break against Malaysian Ibrahim Bin Amir in Group G. – GMANews.TV