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Ibrahim Amir Tames “The Lion”, Alex Pagulayan

July 15, 2007 (Orchid Country Club, Singapore) – For the fourth time this year, luck refused to shine on the Philippine campaign for their first Guinness 9Ball Tour title as the nation’s last hope, 2004 IPT World Pool Champion Alex Pagulayan was upset by Malaysia’s Ibrahim Amir in a heartbreaking 11-13 loss to bow out of Asia’s premier pool competition here at the Orchid Country Club in Singapore.
 
Drawing first blood with an 8-9 combo, Pagulayan was all business as he found the touch early to race to a 4-1 advantage. But uncharacteristic errors from the Filipino in the 6th and 7th racks saw Amir able to bounce back with an impressive streak of own and knot the score, four racks a-piece.
 
Flustered by his opponent’s offensive onslaught, the normally consistent Pagulayan was a bundle of nerves as he lost his concentration which resulted in a bungled corner-pocket attempt at the 8th and a scratch off the break in the 10th to allow Ibrahim easy run-outs of the table and own a commanding 7 – 4 edge.
 
Even so, “The Lion” refused to give up as the former world title-holder displayed his championship form to climb back with five unanswered racks to reclaim the lead, 9 - 7. But a break and run-out in the 17th rack and a thick miss on the black eight from Pagulayan bolstered the confidence of the Malaysian as he surged once more to bring the match to a third deadlock at 9-9. 

The two pool artists then showcased some of their best pool in the 3-day tournament as they traded racks to have the board show a riveting 10-all which meant they had to utilize the two-rack advantage needed to win if play went hill-hill in the semis and finals as dictated by the competition ruling.

Unfortunately, the extended period did not benefit the struggling Pagulayan as the Filipino ran out of tricks to bail him out off the exceptional positional safety shots of Ibrahim, who shifted to the defensive in a bid to rattle the already demoralized Pagulayan. In the end, the ace Filipino committed too many unforced errors as he conceded to the skilled Malaysian, 11 -13 who is entering the final round for the very first time in the Tour.
 
A visibly disappointed Pagulayan remarked: “It was a hard loss for me to take because I really wanted to make my country proud and produce our first win this year. But Ibrahim was performing well and giving me a hard-time with the safeties. At the same time, I was not really producing my best form which essentially is inexcusable in a tournament of this calibre. But still I did my best, It was only that Ibrahim was better. I am hoping I can make up for the loss in Shanghai next month”
 
Ibrahim’s opponent for the finals will be the winner of the all Chinese Taipei semi-final between 2005’s World Pool Champion Wu Chia-Ching and Kaohsiung leg winner Yang Ching-Shun who were still engaged in battle as of press time. With another guaranteed finalist for Chinese-Taipei, they remain odds-on favourites to notch another Guinness 9Ball Tour crown to boost their quest for a historic sweep of the annual nation-hopping event.
 
Viewers in Asia will be able to catch the semi-finals and final LIVE and exclusively on STAR Sports at the following times:
 
Sunday 15 July
 
            Semi-final 2 (1230hrs): Wu Chia-Ching (TPE) vs Yang Ching-Shun (TPE)
 
            Final scheduled for 1400hrs.
 
The Guinness 9-Ball Tour is sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU) and organized by ESPN STAR Sports’ Event Management Group (EMG). Guinness is the title sponsor for the Tour. The local sanctioning body is Cuesports Singapore. Iwan Simonis and Aramith supply the official tablecloth and official balls respectively. Brunswick Metro provides the official pool table while Predator is the official cue. The New Paper is the Media Partner. The Official Venue is the Orchid Country Club .STAR Sports is the official broadcaster while StarHub is the official Broadcast Partner.

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