By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Bacolodnon Johann Chua’s bid for glory in the 2025 Florida Open Championships came to an abrupt end after a 10-4 defeat to Spanish veteran Francisco Sanchez Ruiz in the Round of 32 in Florida on Saturday, August 9.

The 2023 World Cup of Pool champion found himself on the back foot early, unable to recover against the composed and precise shot-making of Ruiz, one of Europe’s most decorated cue artists.

The loss was part of a difficult day for the Filipino contingent, as several other national standouts — including reigning world pool champion Carlo Biado — also bowed out of contention.

Biado initially looked sharp after overpowering Ukraine’s Vitaliy Patsura, 10-5.

However, he faltered in the next round against last year’s European Open champion Mickey Krause of Denmark, 10-6.

Only Marvin Asis managed to advance to the last 16, becoming the last Filipino standing in the $200,000 tournament.

Asis dominated Indonesia’s Albert Januarta, 10-2, before edging Poland’s Konrad Juszczyszyn, 10-8, to arrange a showdown with former world pool champion Shane Van Boening, who cruised past Japan’s Masato Yoshioka, 10-1, and Scotland’s Elliot Sanderson, 10-5.

The Florida Open offers a top prize of $40,000 (around P2.2 million) and serves as a key warm-up event for the 2025 US Open Pool Championship set from August 18 to 25 in Atlantic City, New Jersey./ASC, WDJ