JOHANN Chua advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 APF Asian 9-Ball Open with a thrilling 11-10 win over Robbie Capito of Hong Kong on Saturday at the Aspire Recreation Centre in Singapore.
Chua won the final rack after a dry break and overcoming a series of safeties to earn a trip to the final four to be played on Sunday morning. The championship is also set later that day.
See Biado crashes out of Asian 9-Ball
Chua will take on Ko Pin Yi of Chinese Taipei, who scored a 11-4 win over Masato Yoshioka of Japan.
The other bracket will have three players looking to arrange a semifinal clash between Filipinos on Saturday.
Lauro Bongay and James Aranas battle in their quarterfinal match, while Anthony Raga takes on Naoyuki Oi of Japan in the other bracket.
Chua has been unbeaten in the knockout stage but Saturday’s win was the closest.
The reigning Southeast Asian Games 9-ball champion overcame Sharik Aslam Sayed of Singapore, 11-2, and fellow Filipino Jeff De Luna, 11-8, at the start of the knockout round on Friday.
Chua began the tournament with a 9-3 win over Trung Tri Tran of Vietnam, before beating US Open runner-up Aloysius Yapp of Singapore, 9-3. Chua booked a trip to the knockout phase with a 9-0 blanking of Hayato Hijikita of Japan.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph