Philippines, 23 Mar 2026
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


WORLD CUP OF POOL: DE LUNA, GOMEZ DEFEAT U.S. TANDEM TO ENTER LAST EIGHT; ESTONIA EDGES BRITAIN A

PhilBoxing.com



Jeff de Luna and Roberto Gomez celebrate after ousting the United States.

DRAMATIC NIGHT SEES GREAT BRITAIN A AND USA CRASH OUT OF WORLD CUP OF POOL

ROUND TWO
Great Britain C 7-4 Greece
USA 5–7 Philippines
Estonia 7–6 Great Britain A

Great Britain A crashed out of the World Cup of Pool in the most agonising of circumstances as Jayson Shaw scratched with two balls remaining at hill-hill against Estonia.

Earlier in the evening Philippines had won seven consecutive racks to come from 5-0 down to beat USA in a match that had it all and will live long in the memory, while Great Britain C’s comeback continued with a 7-4 success over Greece to reach the quarter-finals.

Shaw and Chris Melling had beaten Belarus in the first round to face Estonia (Denis Grabe and Mark Magi) in the final second round fixture. Neither team were at their best in the first half of the match and after eight racks it was 4-4. The hosts looked set to move ahead until Melling scratched on the 6. Estonia did the rest and reached the hill in rack ten after some good safety play. Magi’s break wasn’t firm enough and to add insult to injury, not only did he fail to make a ball but he left a shot at the 1 for Shaw.

Great Britain A took that rack and the next to join Estonia on the hill, and though Grabe and Magi had a chance in the last, it was Shaw and Melling who were at the table when only the 5 and 9 remained. The two balls were tied close to each other and Shaw didn’t have great position. He cut the five in with pace, but the cue came off the side rail to scratch in the top pocket and Magi had a simple 9 to dramatically take a place in the quarter-finals.

Estonia will face Philippines in the last eight after Jeff De Luna and Roberto Gomez staged a dramatic comeback against America’s Skyler Woodward and Billy Thorpe.

At 2-0 down De Luna executed a great up-table bank on the 7, only to see the cue ball scratch and award USA hall-in-hand with only the 9 remaining on the table. The Americans ran the next rack fro a 4-0 lead and the Filipino mountain was growing.

They had a chance in the fifth but the 7 rattled out of the jaws for Gomez, who was lucky not to scratch. That made it too tough for Thorpe to pot, but Woodward would then get a chance after De Luna’s hit-and-hope wasn’t executed. The drama wasn’t over yet though; this time the two-time Mosconi Cup MVP failed to remove the 7 from the table. It finally went to a Gomez cut, but position was tough for De Luna who couldn’t cut it to the corner; Thorpe knocked in the gimmie and USA had a 5-0 advantage.

But Philippines weren’t done, and began to climb the mountain. The ninth was the most dramatic as again both teams struggled with the stubborn 7, but Philippines came out on top after Thorpe left it in the jaws and in the tenth the Filipinos levelled up against the odds.

They didn’t have a shot after the next break but still managed to reach the hill, and USA didn’t return to the table. The match was one of the World Cup’s best; drama, top play, and in part a story of USA failing to close out from 5-0 up, while Philippines capitalised to run a seven pack to win the match from the jaws of defeat.

Earlier in the session, comeback kids Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes took advantage of a despondent Greece (Alex Kazakis and Nick Malai). Appleton and Boyes lifted the World Cup in 2014 and were returning as a late replacement for Canada, who had been blighted with travel issues. Having beaten South Africa in the first round, their task in round two looked harder against the 2019 quarter-finalists.

However, Greece struggled at the table and though Great Britain C weren’t faultless, they did enough, with Boyes in particular not looking like a player who officially retired in 2017. With Great Britain B having gone out to Philippines in round one, and the ‘A’ team succumbing to Estonia, GB C are now flying the flag alone for the hosts after completing a 7-4 win over Greece.

All four quarter finals will be played out on Thursday, with two in the afternoon session and two in the evening. The action begins at 12noon with Slovakia vs. Japan before Great Britain C face Netherlands. The World Cup of Pool is broadcast live globally including on Sky Sports, DAZN and Matchroom.Live. Full broadcast details can be found at matchroompool.com.

For all the latest news and announcements follow Matchroom Pool on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.




Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • SD FIGHT NIGHT: FAMILY BUSINESS DOUBLE MAIN EVENTS SET AS JULIUS “JUJU” BALLO SQAURES OFF AGAINST ROMAN REYES AT FRONTWAVE ARENA ON SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2026
    , Mon, 23 Mar 2026
  • "I'M A MAN OF MY WORD": GEORGE LIDDARD COMPLETES MATCHROOM BRENTWOOD HALF MARATHON FOR CHARITY – HOURS AFTER DENNY WIN
    , Mon, 23 Mar 2026
  • Lester Martinez Wins WBC Interim World Super Middleweight Championship with Unanimous Decision over Immanuwel Aleem
    , Sun, 22 Mar 2026
  • IBF Pan Pacific champion Vince Paras set to face unbeaten OPBF champion Aoi Yokoyama in Kyrgyzstan
    , Sun, 22 Mar 2026
  • King James sets NBA all-time record for most games played
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Sun, 22 Mar 2026
  • Loaded boxing schedule
    By Joaquin Henson, , Sun, 22 Mar 2026
  • WEIGHTS, IMAGES, RUNNING ORDER AND THE LAST WORDS AHEAD OF ADAMES VS. WILLIAMS IN ORLANDO
    , Sat, 21 Mar 2026
  • COPPER BOX ARENA FIGHT NIGHT: WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND RUNNING ORDER CONFIRMED AS LIDDARD AND DENNY FACE-OFF FOR FINAL TIME
    , Sat, 21 Mar 2026
  • Weights From ‘Martinez vs. Aleem’ Event from the NOS Event Center in San Bernardino and Broadcast live on ProBoxTV
    , Sat, 21 Mar 2026
  • Jordan Orozco Training Camp Notes
    , Sat, 21 Mar 2026
  • Towns vs. Bordin for PAT Belt; De Barbo, Nancholas, Samiei in Supporting Bouts at Brico Santig's Exciting Show in Pattaya Beach, Thailand
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • YOENIS TELLEZ TRAINING CAMP QUOTES
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Lebron James ties the most game played in NBA history
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Pichay supports GM Antonio's Australian chess circuit campaign
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • LIDDARD-DENNY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES IN FULL: EVERYTHING THAT WAS SAID AHEAD OF SATURDAY'S COPPER BOX FIGHT NIGHT
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaiman: The WBC Continues the Fight for the Good of the Sport
    By Mauricio Sulaimán, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • AMMO: ADAMES FIGHT WILL BE EXPLOSIVE
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Carlos De Leon Training Camp Notes
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • The Highly Anticipated  Box Fan Expo Invitational 2026 Returns with A  USA Boxing Amateur Show
    , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Placibe, Sales tops Sprint Challenge
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Fri, 20 Mar 2026
  • Lester Martinez vs. Immanuwel Aleem Los Angeles Media Day Quotes
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • MAPUA, PSKAI R-10 to play in Best of Best
    By Lito delos Reyes, , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • IIEE Metro East dominates the 4th D’ Engineers’ Darts Cup 2026
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • LIDDARD: WHY I'M RUNNING MATCHROOM HALF MARATHON AFTER TITLE DEFENCE AGAINST DENNY
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026
  • Press Conference Notes: DAZN and Top Rank Sign Multi-Year Rights Deal
    , Thu, 19 Mar 2026




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2026 philboxing.com.