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Little-known Raga stuns ex-Masters champ Ko to reach final 16; Chua falls

Sports

Little-known Raga stuns ex-Masters champ Ko to reach final 16; Chua falls

By Manila Bulletin Sports

At A Glance

Unheralded Filipino bet Anthony Raga continued to impress but the more popular Johann Chua bowed out of contention of the European Open Pool Championships at Hotel Esperanto in Fulda, Germany on Friday, Aug. 11.

By MARK REY MONTEJO

Unheralded Filipino bet Anthony Raga continued to impress but the more popular Johann Chua bowed out of contention of the European Open Pool Championships at Hotel Esperanto in Fulda, Germany on Friday, Aug. 11.

Anthony Raga — Anthony Raga becomes the last Filipino man standing in the European Open Pool Championships. (Matchroom Pool)

Eager to show his worth in a bigger stage, Raga claimed the biggest fish of a flourishing career with a stunning 10-0 win over former Masters champion Ko Pin Yi of Taiwan.

Known as the “The Dragon,” Raga regaled the crowd with some incredible shots and powerful breaks that left the Taiwanese star bewildered.

Chua, meanwhile, yielded to a familiar foe in Singaporean Aloysius Yapp, 10-2, thus joining World Cup of Pool partner James Aranas on the sidelines.

Ko tried to stage a fightback, but luck was definitely on Raga’s side.

Raga next faces Canadian John Morra for a spot in the quarters.

Morra is coming off a 10-6 victory over Serbian Aleksa Pecelj, 10-6.

Raga, 25, made his way to the knockout stage via the losers’ bracket that saw him beat Brazil’s Ivan Coelho (9-7), Albanian Behar Spahiu (8-4) in the relegation, and Mateusz Sniegocki (10-8) in the round of 64.

Poland’s Daniel Maciol also made ripples with a 10-5 win over last year’s champion Albin Ouschan of Austria.

Related Tags

Johann Chua

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