Pagulayan stops Corteza in all-Pinoy duel

The teeth of its campaign in billiards and snooker competition in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games has already netted the Philippines with comfortable lead, which is impossible to overhaul, according to billiards officials.

"We have already gone beyond our expectations — a minimum of four — but our aim here actually is to give our local players the needed exposures in international meet like this (SEAG)," said Ernesto Fajardo, president of Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines.

At last count, the Philippines has already cornered six of the nine events contested, and the last two days of competition still carry bright hope of boosting its medal haul.

Only last night, Alex Pagulayan and Lee van Cortez posted similarly stirring semifinal wins over separate rivals in the men’s 8-ball pool singles. The two were still fighting for the gold as of press time

Pagulayan outplayed Indonesia’s Yudarman K, 9-6 in just about the same time Lee Van Corteza disposed off Singaporean Tey Choon Kiat in the same score, 9-6, in a pair of semifinal encounters at the Makati Coliseum.

Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar have one gold medal each. Vietnam’s lone gold was courtesy of Nguyen Thahn Long, who ruled the men’s English Billiards singles two nights ago after beating Myanmar’s U Kyaw Oo, 3-0.

Myanmar struck for the gold in men’s English billiards doubles Wednesday night as its pair of Kyam Oo and Aung San Oo defeated Thailand’s Sujaritthurakarn and Chaihanasakun, 3-0, in last Wednesday’s finals. It also has one silver.

The four events left to be contested are men’s 9-ball pool singles, women’s 9-ball pool singles, men’s snooker singles, and men’s one cushion carom singles. — Arman Carandang