World Cup of Pool: England B defeat Philippines to reach quarter-finals
Friday 25 September 2015 23:16, UK
England B joined compatriots and defending champions England A in the quarter-finals of the World Cup of Pool after knocking out the highly-fancied Philippines.
The team consisting of Mark Gray and Daryl Peach thought they had let a 4-1 lead evaporate against the three-time winners in a topsy-turvy contest.
But they secured a passage through to the quarter-finals thanks to a 7-4 win against the team consisting of Carlo Biado and Warren Kiamco at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London.
It was the first time in 10 appearances that second seeds Philippines had failed to reached the last eight of the competition, but victory gave England B realistic hopes of setting up a potential all-England final on Sunday, following the A team's thrashing of Korea on Thursday.
Former winners Finland produced a gritty display to beat Singapore 7-4 and now await England B in the next round.
For the first time in seven visits to the tournament, Qatar made it through thanks to a 7-3 victory over the Czech Republic.
Bashar Hussein and Waleed Majid worked well in tandem, proving that their victory over the USA was no fluke.
In the afternoon session, fifth seeds Austria showcased some impressive shooting to cruise past France with an emphatic 7-2 success.
Romania came from 5-3 down to beat Indonesia, while fourth seeds and bookmakers favourites Chinese Taipei advanced with a 7-3 victory against Poland.
Watch Saturday's afternoon session at the World Cup of Pool from 1.30pm on Sky Sports 3 and you can catch the evening session starting from 6.30pm.
