Alex Pagulayan (photo courtesy of Dave Thomson mediumpool.com)
Fans were treated to a late night Filipino Finale in the 9-ball banks division of the 2011 Derby City Classic. “The Lion” Alex Pagulayan and Ronnie Alcano fought until one man was left standing. Pagulayan took the first game with a five and out and the second game after much defensive play. Alcano responded with a five and out in rack three. Pagulayan did not give up. He fired in a cross-side to close out the match. Alcano's only two losses came from Pagulayan.
The Lion was thrilled to be back in the winners' circle. A new “one bye” rule was implemented this year to help avoid back to back byes for the same player, as we've seen in the past. This new rule automatically advanced Pagulayan to the finals when he was undefeated against reigning champ, John Brumback and Alcano received the bye.
After his brief hiatus, Pagulayan has been spending much time in Las Vegas recently, walking seven miles a day and devoting his life to the game again. “This is the first year I'm not tired yet,” he told friends as he entered round 12 with five players remaining. This victory earns him a new title and $10,000 in prize money.
32 players entered in last night's midnight senior one-pocket mini event. $1,000 was added courtesy of Diamond Billiard Products. Players were required to be 60 years or over to participate. Bob Herchik from Las Vegas, Nevada went undefeated, eliminating last year's senior one-pocket champ, Jose Parica, leaving him with a fourth place finish. Herchik got $1,000 for his efforts after defeating Cincinnati's Whitey Stephensen in the finals.
Mike Davis set the mark in the 14.1 challenge on Monday with a run of 146. Dennis Orcollo was second best for the day with 74 and Beau Runningen ran 64 for third.
The one-pocket mini is scheduled for midnight tonight.
First round of the Fat Boy Challenge begins tomorrow night.
Tune in to Accu-stats.com for your live streaming action all week. The AzBilliards 2011 DCC Coverage page was made possible by CueBallTracker.com and PoolDawg.com.
