By JONAS TERRADO
Carlo Biado held off a late push by Malaysia’s Darryl Chia to take a 9-7 win and advance to the quarterfinals of the men’s 9-ball singles competition of the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Biado, who last year won the US Open Pool Championship, had to weather off Chia’s rally from an 8-3 deficit to reach the next round.
The former world champion could have closed it out in the 12th rack, but missed an attempt to the seven-ball which gave the Malaysian a chance to make a comeback.
But Biado was able to get a break four racks later to avoid a stunning exit from the competition.
His next opponent is either Myanmar’s Thaw Zin Htet or Cambodia’s Chamrine Touch.
The 38-year-old is aiming to win the gold he last won back in the 2017 edition held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Biado settled for bronze in the 2019 Philippine SEAG in the men’s 9-ball doubles with Johann Chua.
Jeffrey Roda likewise advanced to the quarters of the men’s snooker 6-red singles following a 5-4 win over Vietnam’s Nguyen Pham Hoai.
Roda will face Singapore’s Chun Kiat Lim or Thailand’s Kritsanut Lertsattayathorn in the quarters.
