JAMES Aranas will play in the final of the 2022 APF Asian 9-Ball Open after defeating Naoyuki Oi of Japan, 11-6, on Sunday at the Aspire Recreation Centre in Singapore.
Aranas made it to the championship with a solid showing where he started out with a 7-1 lead and never looked back.
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There won’t be an all-Filipino final though after Johann Chua suffered an 11-2 loss to Ko Pin Yu of Chinese Taipei.
Chua couldn’t get his rhythm going after falling behind 7-0 in the match.
Johann Chua could not get his game going.
Aranas, nicknamed ‘Dodong Diamond’ will go for his first major title against Ko in the championship at 7 p.m.
The Davao native beat two Filipinos during the knockout stage, defeating Demosthenes Pul-pul in the first round, 11-6, and Lauro Bongay in the quarterfinals, 11-2. He also won over Duong Quoc Hoang, 11-9, in the second round.
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