Published May 14, 2021, 3:50 PM
Jeff de Luna (left) and Roberto Gomez
Jeff de Luna and Roberto Gomez crashed out of the World Cup of Pool after absorbing a 9-4 loss to Denis Grabe and Mark Magi of Estonia in their quarterfinal match held Thursday, May 13 local time (Friday, May 14 Manila time) in Milton Keynes, England.
The Filipino pair couldn’t replicate its stunning comeback against the United States as the Estonians raced to a 6-1 lead on their way to advancing to the semifinals of the 9-ball doubles competition.
De Luna and Gomez ended their campaign with a purse of $9,000 (almost P430,000) after being denied of a chance to give the Philippines a record fourth title.
0 >Denis Grabe (left) and Mark Mägi at the Estonian championships final in 2020. Source: Priit Mürk/ERR
Denis Grabe and Mark Mägi, Estonia s leading pool double, defeated Great Britain in a tight contest at the World Cup of Pool and advanced to the quarterfinals.
The contest between Estonia and Great Britain (Jayson Shaw, Chris Melling) remained tight until the deciding shots. While the Estonians had a chance to take the match, it was Jayson Shaw with only two balls left on the table. Shaw made one ball but his cue ball ended up in the top pocket, which allowed Mark Mägi to make a simple shot en route to a dramatic place in the quarterfinals.
Published May 13, 2021, 2:09 PM
Roberto Gomez, from left, and Jeff de Luna do a chest bump in celebration of their 7-5 victory over Billy Thorpe and Skyler Woodward of the United States in the World Cup of Pool in Milton Keynes, England. (Photo from Matchroom Pool)
Jeff de Luna and Roberto Gomez came roaring back from a huge deficit to stun Billy Thorpe and Skyler Woodward of the United States, 7-5, Wednesday, May 12 (early Thursday, May 13 Manila time) and reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup of Pool in Milton Keynes, England.
The Filipino duo was on the verge of exiting the tournament after the Americans raced to a 5-0 lead, but De Luna and Gomez were able to make up for their early miscues by taking the successive racks on their way to claiming a spot in the last eight.
PHOTO: Matchroom Sport
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.
Great Britain 7-4 Belarus
Great Britain A survived a huge first round scare against Belarus to advance to the second round of the World Cup of Pool, while Great Britain C and USA also progressed on Tuesday evening.
Mosconi Cup MVP Jayson Shaw was joined by Chris Melling on Great Britain A but they found themselves struggling against Belarus’ all-female pairing of Margarita Fefilova and Yana Halliday, whose husband Richard had represented South Africa earlier in the evening.
Belarus showed early in the match that they certainly weren’t here to make up the numbers, taking two of the first four racks. The hosts looked set to regain the lead in the fifth but Melling left Shaw poor position on the 9, and his attempted thin cut barely moved the 9 and Belarus took the lead.