Roda, Raga triumph in World Pool tourney

July 23 ------ FILIPINO cue artists Jefrey Roda and Anton Raga got off to a winning start at the World Pool Championship in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in Manila.

Roda took a 9-8 hill-hill triumph against Scottish Fraser Patrick, while Raga topped home bet Fahad Aldhayan, 9-3, in the Crown Jewel of Nineball. Advancing to round 2 of the winners qualification, Roda will face Turkish Mustalfa Alnar.

On the other hand, Raga will battle Syrian Mohammad Soufi. Other Philippine players Marlon Cañeda, Rogelio Sotero and Mark Kalagayan also competed on Tuesday but fell to their respective foes. Cañeda bowed to Italian Francesco Candela, 2-9; Sotero to Estonian Denis Grabe, 5-9; and Kalagayan to Tawianese Chang Yu Lung, 6-9.

They will battle their way to the deeper rounds through the losers’ bracket. At press time on Tuesday, a slew of Filipino cue artists were set to compete in the round 1 stage 1, including top bets Johann Chua and Carlo Biado, the most recent Philippine player to rule the 9-ball event back in 2017.

Chua was set to battle Saudi Arabian Mohamed Al-Balkhi while Biado was to face Dutch Jan Van Lierop. A total of 17 Filipino players are in the 128-man field of the tournament, the biggest delegation among participating countries.

Source: manilatimes.net