THE Philippine pair of Roberto Gomez and Jeff De Luna overcame a 0-5 deficit to defeat Billy Thorpe and Skyler Woodward of the United States, 7-5, to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2021 World Cup of Pool at the Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, England.
Gomez and De Luna had a sluggish start, giving up the first five racks of the match, but went on a roll in the round-of-16 match in remarkable fashion against the seventh-ranked Americans.
The Philippines, seeded No. 10 in the $250,000 competition, will next face Estonia, which defeated Great Britain-A, 7-6.
The Filipino pool artists started the tournament on a high note with a 7-3 win over Allison Fisher and Kelly Fisher of Great Britain-B.
Dennis Grabe and Mark Magi escaped with the win for Estonia after Jayson Shaw and Chris Melling scratched at hill-hill with one ball remaining to arrange the quarterfinal showdown against the Philippines.
Slovakia, which eliminated top-seed and defending champion Austria in the first round, continued to pull off upsets against higher-ranked opponents after edging No. 16 Czech Republic, 7-6, to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Japan, which beat Russia, 7-2.
Germany also beat Kuwait, 7-4, and Denmark downed Italy, 7-5.
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