Rubilen Amit during the awarding ceremony of the women’s 9-ball singles last Tuesday in the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam. | Photo from Team Philippines’ photographer Nonilon Reyes
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Rubilen Amit of Cebu proved the steadier player down the stretch to win gold in the all-Filipina women’s 10-ball singles final, rallying past Chezka Centeno, 7-5 on Saturday, for her second gold in the 31st Southeast Asian Games at Ha Dong Gymnasium in Vietnam.
Amit won the Philippines’ 43rd gold medal in the biennial meet while Centeno accounted for the country’s 59th silver medal after their tightly-contested final.
The 40-year-old Amit of Mandaue City got off to a slow start and found herself down, 0-3 against the fast-charging Centeno.
However, the two-time WPA Women’s World Ten-ball Championship winner and the first Filipina world billiards champion won five of the next seven racks to tie the count at 5-all. She then swept the 11th and 12th racks to secure the gold and dethrone Centeno, who won in Manila in 2019.
During the 2019 SEA Games, Centeno shocked Amit, 7-3 for the women’s 10-ball gold.
It was Amit’s second gold medal in the Vietnam games after pocketing the women’s 9-ball gold last Tuesday against Jessica Tan of Singapore, 7-2.
Overall, it was Amit’s 10th gold medal in the SEAG. /rcg
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