By MARK REY MONTEJO

Johann Chua and James Aranas brushed off the spirited comeback of Chinese Taipei standouts Ko Ping Chung and Ko Pin Yi, 9-8, to barge into the semifinals of the World Cup of Pool 9-ball Championship in Lugo, Spain on Saturday, July 1.

Johann Chua and James Aranas (Matchroom Pool's Facebook post)

The Filipino duo bolted out of the gates with a commanding 6-0 advantage in their race-to-9 showdown before the Taiwanese pair came to its senses and made it 8-2.

Fighting for their tournament lives, the Ko brothers battled back and scored six straight racks to tie the match.

Chua and Aranas, however, shrugged off the resistance in the final rack and inched closer to the championship which offers a $60,000 (P3.3 million) cash prize for the winning tandem.

The Filipinos will now face Austria's Albin Ouschan and Mario He.

In the previous rounds, Chua and Aranas eliminated the defending champion duo of Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and David Alcaide (Spain A), and Jose Alberto Delgado and Jonas Souto Comino of Spain B to reach the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Filipino-born Canadian Alex Pagulayan and his partner John Morra reached the Round of 16 but bowed out of the contention against Joshua Filler and Moritz Neuhausen of Germany, 7-4.