Chua, Aranas break through in world pool history

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines capped its brilliant two-week display of pool wizardry as Johann Chua and James Aranas bested Germany’s Joshua Filler and Moritz Neuhausen, 11-7, in the finals to deliver a record World Cup of Pool crown at the Pazo de Feiras E Congresos in Lugo, Spain early Monday.

Unlike in their escape acts from hill-hill matches against the Taiwanese and the Austrians in the quarters and semis, respectively, Chua and Aranas took control of the race-to-11 finale in the stretch, never giving Filler and Neuhausen a chance to recover to complete their stirring campaign that netted them a whopping $60,000 prize (P3.3 million).

“This has always been our dream and I feel great. It feels amazing to win a world title. It’s such an honor to win with James,” said Chua after pocketing his first world crown. “We’ve known each other since we were 13 (years old) and we went to school together.”

For his part, Aranas, who actually lost his trusted cues in transit, said: “It’s so exciting and unforgettable, spending the moment with Johann.”

The Philippines thus became the first country to win the Cup four times. Legends Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante won it twice — in the inaugural staging of the event in Wales in 2006 and in 2008 in Quezon City — with Dennis Orcollo and Lee Van Corteza delivering the third title in 2013 in London.

Carlo Biado and Jeff de Luna had a shot at the fourth championship in 2019, also in England, but Mario He and Albin Ouschan foiled them via an imposing 11-3 result.

But Aranas and Chua got back at He and Oushchan in the semis although it took them an unlucky break from the Austrians to snatch the victory and barge into the finals.

Despite yielding the lag, the Philippines took the opening rack after Filler scratched off the break but the Germans cashed in on Aranas’ miss on No. 9 in the next to draw level then the latter scored on a break-and-run to seize the lead.

The Filipinos, however, snatched the fourth after a loose Filler safety on No. 2 as the pressure mounted for the two sides in pursuit of momentum and commanding lead.

Aranas and Chua took the fifth rack and pocketed the next two after a costly foul shot from Germany, giving the Philippines a 5-2 lead.

Another break-and-run in the eighth put the Filipinos four racks ahead and they sustained their fine form while flashing superb ball control to sit on an 8-2 cushion, highlighted by Chua’s draw back from the 3 to perfect position, leading to another break-and-run and a seven-rack lead.

Germany had its chance in the 11th rack but Filler stumbled, a miscue which Aranas parlayed into a 6-9 combination that put the Philippines two racks away from re-writing history.

A miss in the next, however, allowed Germany to stall the Philippines' charge and the Europeans won four more racks to move within, 7-9, hinting at another shaky finish that has marred the Filipinos’ campaign in the quarters and semis.

But like the Taiwanese and the Austrians, the Germans missed to complete their fightback. They were forced to push out from the break in the 17th, a cue which the Filipinos gamely took to reach the hill.

The Filipinos then made a brilliant safety in the 18th rack, forcing the Germans to go for a deliberate foul shot, hoping their rivals would falter on the 2.

It backfired as Aranas and Chua knocked down the blue and pocketed the rest to complete their rise to world pool supremacy.

"It was a tough final," said Filler. "They were breaking better. Aranas played a crazy two ball and after that, they played better and deserved to win."

Against Austria, the Philippines led at 6-3 and 8-4 but Austria battled back and won the next four racks. But breaking for the match, He made a scratch while knocking down No. 1 and the Filipinos promptly responded by winning the rack, hacking out another tough win in a hill-hill battle the way they eluded Taiwanese brothers Pin Yi and Ping Chung Ko after blowing an 8-2 lead in the quarterfinals.

On their way to the finals, Aranas and Chua toppled Spain Team A, 7-5, and smothered the host country’s Team B, 7-2.

Earlier, Filler and Neuhausen pounced on China’s Wang Can’s costly mishit in the 14th rack as the latter muffed a tough angled shot on 9 that would have given him and Jia Qing a two-rack cushion. Instead, the Germans tied it at 7, then scored a couple of run-outs to carve out the win and seal a title clash with the Filipinos.