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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Roda, Raga make waves in World Pool Championship opener

Roda, Raga make waves in World Pool Championship opener

Published Jul 22, 2025 01:22 pm

At A Glance

  • Jefrey Roda and Anton Raga opened their campaigns with contrasting victories on Monday, July 21, at the start of the 2025 World Pool Championships held at the Green Halls in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Jefrey Roda opens his title bid on a high note. (Matchroom Pool)
Jefrey Roda opens his title bid on a high note. (Matchroom Pool)
Jefrey Roda and Anton Raga opened their campaigns with contrasting victories on Monday, July 21, at the start of the 2025 World Pool Championships held at the Green Halls in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Roda, 25, who captured his first World Nineball Tour title at the Chinese Taipei Open last year, edged Scotland’s Fraser Patrick in a nail-biting 9-8 win to kick off his title bid on a high note.
Cebuano standout Raga, a finalist at the 2023 European Open Pool Championship, had a more comfortable debut, cruising past hometown bet Fahad Aldhayan with a dominant 9-3 win.
Three other Filipino cue artists, however, were relegated to the loser’s bracket after stumbling in their opening matches.
Marlon Cañeda fell to Italy’s Francesco Candela, 9-2; Rogelio Sotero lost to Estonia’s Denis Grabe, 9-5; and Mark Kalagayan bowed to Chinese Taipei’s Chang Yu Lung, 9-6.
Thirteen more Filipinos, led by last year’s semifinalist Johann Chua and 2017 world champion Carlo Biado, were still seeing action at press time in the 128-player tournament, which offers a record-breaking total prize fund of US$1 million (around P56.9 million).
The tournament champion will take home a hefty $250,000 (around P14.2 million).
Chua battles local bet Mohamed Al-Balkhi while Biado faces Netherlands’ Jan Van Lierop.
James Aranas, who won the 2023 World Cup of Pool with Chua, battles Wesam Hamamm of Egypt, even as multiple Southeast Asian Games champion Lee Vann Corteza clashes with local Al Waleed Al-Mudayan.
Roland Garcia meets former world 9-ball champion Niels Feijen of the Netherlands, Marvin Asis tackles veteran David Alcaide of Spain, Michael Feliciano collides with Konrad Juszczyszyn of Poland, Bernie Regalario squares off with Abdullah Alenzi of Kuwait, and Patrick Gonzales faces Roman Hybler of Czechia.
Michael Baoanan tangles with Serbia’s Aleksa Pecelj, Jeffrey Ignacio competes against James Georgiadis of Australia, and AJ Manas meets fellow Filipino Alexis Ferrer.
The prestigious event features players from over 40 countries, including defending champion Fedor Gorst of the United States. Other big names in the draw are 2024 runner-up Eklent Kaçi of Albania, former champions Francisco Sanchez Ruiz of Spain and Shane Van Boening of the U.S., along with crowd favorites Aloysius Yapp (Singapore), Joshua Filler (Germany), Ko Pin Yi (Chinese Taipei), and Jayson Shaw (Great Britain).
Biado remains the most recent Filipino champion of the tournament, joining legends Efren “Bata” Reyes (1999), Ronnie Alcano (2006), and Francisco “Django” Bustamante (2010).
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