Alex Pagulayan
 Alex Pagulayan at IPT North American Open in Las Vegas, July 2006 |
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| Medal record | ||
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Representing  Philippines
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Men's Eight-Ball |
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| Southeast Asian Games | ||
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2005 Manila | Singles |
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Men's Nine-Ball |
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| Southeast Asian Games | ||
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2005 Manila | Doubles |
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Men's Snooker |
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| Southeast Asian Games | ||
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2005 Manila | Team |
Alejandro "Alex" Salvador Pagulayan (born June 25, 1976) is a Filipino Canadian professional pool (pocket billiards) and snooker player. His nicknames are "the Lion" and "the Killer Pixie". This latter nickname was given by none other than the great Cliff "the Grinder" Thorburn, former World and Canadian Snooker champion. Alex has a third, more recent nickname of "Mungo" (a favorite Filipino dish) given to him by Rick McCallum, former Wayne State University Pocket Billiard instructor and friend from the Hall of Fame Billiard room in Warren, Michigan. Alex was born in Cabagan, Isabela, Philippines and was raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2004, Pagulayan returned to the Philippines, and is a dual citizen of Canada and the Philippines.
He is known for his relaxed demeanor during competition, and is a crowd favorite, well liked because of his humorous interaction with the audience. His impressions of other pool players are especially entertaining.
Pagulayan's parents emigrated to Canada when he was 13 years old. His father managed a pool hall, so Pagulayan was introduced to the game at an early age. Though he was also attracted to other sports, he thought his physique may have been unsuitable for them. He has said, "I like a lot of sports, but with pool, you don't have to be physically tough." His main training venue was Loma's pool hall.
Pagulayan also has expertise in the pocket billiards game of snooker, and his capabilities helped his Philippines team to win the Snooker Gold Medal at the 2005 SEA Games (held in Manila, Philippines) with teammates Joven Alba and Leonardo Andam. After the team's 3–2 win against Thailand at the Makati Coliseum, Pagulayan emerged as a triple Gold Medalist.
Very skilled players in nine-ball have the tendency to sometimes pocket four or even five balls on the break. Pagulayan in the first rack of the semi-finals in the 2004 BCA Open, sank six balls on the break — two-thirds of the entire rack. (But note that Rodolfo Luat also performed a similar feat in a Japanese tournament.) Pagulayan's break did not include the 9 ball, and despite the six ball advantage, he lost that game (to fellow countryman Santos Sambajon).
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