By MARK REY MONTEJO
Two wins to go and a decade long wait for Team Philippines will be over.
Johann Chua and James Aranas displayed steely resolve and pulled off a nail-biting 9-8 win over Ko Ping Chung and Ko Pin Yi of Chinese Taipei to advance to the semifinals of the World Cup of Pool 9-Ball Championship in Lugo, Spain on Saturday, July 1.
The Filipinos looked headed for a runaway win they raced to a commanding 6-0 lead in their race-to-9 quarterfinal duel before another large group of spectators.
And they were a breath away from winning the contest when they later surged to an 8-2 advantage.
Then the drama of the game started to come into play with the Taiwanese making a show of their own, coming through with incredible shots in the next six racks that tied the count at 8-all.
Given another chance to out close the game, the Filipinos delivered and finished off the Taiwanese with the panache of true champions.
In the semis, Aranas and Chua will face either Jayson Shaw and Elliot Sanderson of Great Britain or Austria’s Albin Ouschan and Mario He.
The Philippines has lorded over the prestigious event three times – the first two were won by legends Efren “Bata” Reyes and Django Bustamante in 2006 and 2009.
The last PH pair to win the championship that now offers $60,0000 (P3.3 million) to the winners were Dennis Orcollo and Lee Van Corteza in 2013.
Meanwhile, Fil-Canadian Alex Pagulayan and his partner John Morra reached the Round-of-16 but bowed to Joshua Filler and Moritz Neuhausen of Germany, 7-4.
