Affirming her status as the region’s best female cue artist, Amit downed Singapore’s Charlene Chai, 7-3, Thursday to claim the Women’s 9-Ball title and join swimmer Miguel Molina as the Team Philippines’ double gold performer at the 25th Southeast Asian Games.
Replicating her 1st victory in Women’s 8-Ball Wednesday, the 28-year-old Rubilen Amit again played at a level befitting her stature as the women’s reigning World 10-Ball Champion. A commerce graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, the 4-foot-11 Amit clinched her fourth SEA Games title. Amit, a protégé of Philippine billiards godfather Aristeo “Putch” Puyat, routed Thai Santhinee Jaisuekul, 7-1 in the quarterfinals. The victory of Amit, also a double-gold winner in the 2005 Manila SEA Games and 9-Ball Champion in 2007 Thailand Games, secured for the touted Filipino cue masters the unofficial overall Champion in billiards.
The 28-year-old Rubilen Amit again played at a level befitting her stature as the women’s reigning World 10-Ball Champion
Counting the victory of former double world champion Ronnie Alcano in the Men’s 8-Ball, the Filipinos pooled three golds, one silver and two bronzes and edged the much improved Vietnamese (3-1-0) for honor.
Regarded as the “Dream Team” here, The Pinoys started on the wrong foot when world champions Efren Reyes and former World Number #1 Francisco Bustamante unexpectedly got wiped out right in the first round of the 9-Ball Doubles.