Alex ‘The Lion’ Pagulayan has finally shown up on the Guinness 9-Ball Tour by booking his place in the semi-finals.

Pagulayan got into the final four with a dominant performance against Vietnamese bet, Nguyen Ahn Tuan 9-4 in the first quarterfinal of the fourth leg held at Velocity@Novena Square.

Sitting down with espnstar.com's Kelvin Leong for a deserved rest after the game, Pagulayan was all smiles as he sipped his cuppa.

The Lion, who has failed to make it to the final four in the previous three legs. seemed to have found a renewed vigour in this leg but refuted claims that he has lost his touch.

"I don't think I played badly in the last few legs. I played quite well but my opponents were all playing even better. Especially that guy from Korea, Ryu. He just kept pounding me every time we met on the table!" he said shaking his head.

When quizzed about the much criticized three extension rule on the Tour, the former world champion did not seem bothered.

"The extension rule did bother me when the tournament first started but I have gotten used to it and I personally think it makes for a better and more exciting game. Five extensions for a race to a nine rack game would be ideal though."

He was quick to point out that this leg might just be in the bag for him if his prediction was to be taken seriously.

"Last year's Singapore leg was the beginning of my slump. From then on, I have not been doing well. So I had a big hunch that coming back here, it would be a good tournament for me and the start of a surge for me again."

On his preferred semi-final opponent, he said: "I would prefer to play Joven in the semi-final instead of Wu because that would guarantee one Filipino in the finals."

And in true Pagulayan fashion, he took a huge sip of his coffee, looked me straight in the eye and proclaimed,

"It's about time we took over!" shouted Pagulayan as he pumped his fist in the air.