By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Bacolodnon Johann Chua and James Aranas emerged as champions in the 2023 World Cup of Pool (WCP) in Lugo, Spain yesterday (Philippine time).

The Chua-Aranas tandem captured the country’s fourth WCP title following a thrilling 11-7 victory over Germany’s Joshua Filler and Moritz Neuhausen in the finals.

Chua and Aranas pocketed the top prize of $60,000 with the victory, while also making the Philippines the winningest country in the competition, breaking their tie with three-time winner China.

Prior to Chua and Aranas, the previous three WCP titles by the country came from Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante in 2006 and 2009, and from the Dennis Orcollo-Lee Vann Corteza duo in 2013.

The championship also ended the country’s string of heartbreaks in the competition, including the runner-up finish of Carlo Biado and Jeffrey de Luna in 2019.

Chua and Aranas were scorching in the finals as they jumped to a 9-2 advantage, but Filler and Neuhausen won five straight racks to cut the deficit to 7-9.

However, the Filipino tandem arrested their meltdown by winning the 17th game and moved closer to victory at 11-10 before notching the crown in the next rack following a foul by Neuhausen.

Chua and Aranas opened their campaign in the week-long event by dethroning last year’s champions David Alcaide Bermudez and Francisco Sanchez Ruiz of Spain with a 7-5 win.

In the quarterfinals round, Chua and Aranas put an end to the campaign of another formidable duo in Chinese Taipei’s Ko Pin-yi and Ko Ping-chung with a 9-8 triumph.

In the semifinals round, Chua and Aranas nearly wasted a 9-2 advantage before scoring a 9-8 triumph against Austria’s Albin Ouschan and Mario He, the 2017 and 2019 World Cup winners.

“After 10 years, we made it,” Chua said.

“It’s such a privilege to be able to represent our country and showcase our skills. Salamat sa lahat ng sumusuporta at susuporta pa. Sobrang nakakataba ng puso,” he added./ASC, WDJ