Philippines’ James Aranas and Johann Chua. in the World Cup of Pool. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
James Aranas pulled off a golden break as he and Johann Chua completed the Philippines’ 7-2 victory over Jonas Souto and Jose Alberto Delgado of host Spain on Friday to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup of Pool.
A break by Aranas in the ninth rack resulted in the 9-ball rolling into the right corner pocket which sealed another win against a Spanish team in the annual doubles competition being held at Pazo de Feiras e Congresos in Lugo.
The Filipino duo will face either Niels Feijen and Marc Bijsterbosch of The Netherlands or Ko Pin-Yi and Ko Ping-Chung of Chinese-Taipei in the last eight slated Saturday.
⭐️ James Aranas hits a Golden Break on the hill to win it!
Incredible 💎
🇵🇭🌟 #WorldCupofPool 🌎 pic.twitter.com/dhC2BSOUwE
— Matchroom Pool (@MatchroomPool) June 30, 2023
Netherlands and Chinese-Taipei were playing as of posting time.
Aranas and Chua began the tournament by dethroning defending champion Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and David Alcaide to begin their mastery of two Spanish teams in the tournament.
Against the duo of Souto and Delgado known as Spain B, Aranas and Chua won the first three racks and never looked back to put the Philippines three wins shy of capturing a record fourth World Cup of Pool crown.
Spain won two of the next four frames, but hopes of a comeback before its home supporters dwindled as Chua and Aranas were almost precise with their pocketing.