Alex Pagulayan has won the 2003 WPA-IBC World Tour Finals in Tokyo, Japan.
Pagulayan won his first three matches in the all-star field, scoring wins over Go Takami, Ronnie Alcano and Antonio Lining. His next match was a loss to Efren Reyes, but Pagulayan followed this up with a win over Hiroshi Takenaka to make it into the single elimination final four.
For a tournament that took place in Japan and was full of worldwide top talent, it was still no surprise to see an all Filipino final four with Pagulayan playing Antonio Gabica and Reyes playing Antonio Lining. Reyes and Pagulayan won their matches to set the rematch in the finals.
The first set of the finals saw Reyes pull out a 7-5 win, but Pagulayan roared back with a 6-1 win in the second set. Pagulayan kept the pressure on and scored the 6-4 win in the final set to earn the title of WPA Tour Champion.
Pagulayan won $15,000 while Reyes settled for $7,000. Gabica and Lining each won $4,000 for third place.
Photo courtesy of Diana Hoppe - Pool Pics by Hoppe
