By Gabriela Baron
Pinay cue master Rubilen Amit shrugged off a lackluster start to down Thailand’s Siripaporn Nuathakhamjan 7-5 in the 10-ball women’s singles in the 30th Southeast Asian Games Wednesday at the Tent City of the Manila Hotel.
Philippines’ Rubelin Amit prepares to take a shot during the women’s double 10 ball against the Thailands’ Siripaporn Naunthakhanjam at the 30th Southeast Asia games in Manila, December 4, 2019 (Czar Dancel)
Amit recovered from a 0-3 deficit to pick up the win and move on.
The two-time world champion said she had a lot of errors at the start of the game but stayed composed.
“Ang dami kong errors, medyo nahirapan akong mag-adjust dun sa dulas ng table,”
The 38-year old admitted that the match could have gone either way.
“Ang sabi ko nga sa kalaban ko, you played well. Kasi kung nag-all kami, baka hindi na kayanin ng puso ko.”
Amit revealed that playing in front of the home crowd helped her get back to the game.
“Oo gusto ko (yung palakpakan), parang ano ko yun, energy drink ko,” she said.
Amit, who won gold in the 10-ball event women’s singles in the 2013 SEA Games in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, will go up against Xuan Vang Bui of Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Singapore and Myanmar foiled what a projected all-Filipino finals in the 9-ball doubles competition.
Carlo Biado and Johann Chua fell to defending champion Toh Lian Han and Aloysius Yapp of Singapore 9-3, while Warren Kiamco and Jeffrey Ignacio lost to Aung Moe Thu and Myint Kyaw Phone of Myanmar in a hill-hill battle 9-8.
Basil Hasan Al Shajjar and Michael Angelo Mengorio also fell short to Singapore’s Kingsley Tian Yi ang and Chun Kiat Lim in snookers men’s doubles.
Chezka Centeno is slated to face Thailand in 10-ball women’s singles.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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