PALEMBANG, Indonesia – tatlong gintong medalya ang naging kontribusyon ng national billiards and snooker team mula sa 26th Southeast Asian Games dito.
Ang dalawang gold medal ay nanggaling kay Iris Ranola, habang ang ikatlo ay galing kay Dennis Orcollo.
Si Ranola ang nagreyna sa 8-ball at 9-ball event singles sa women’s division, samantalang si Orcollo ang naghari sa men’s 9-ball.
Ang tatlong gold medal ang siyang dumuplika sa nakolekta ng bansa noong 2009 SEA Games sa Laos.
Ang kababayang si Rublien Amit ang nagdomina sa women’s 8-ball at 9-ball singles sa nakaraang SEA Games.
Maliban sa tatlong gintong medalya nina Ranola at Orcollo, tumumbok rin ang koponan ng dalawang pilak at tatlong tanso.
“It is the best performance by far by the billiards/snooker team despite some other good cue artists in the region showing up here,” wika ni billiards association secretary-general Robert Mananquil.
Ang dalawang silver medals ay nanggaling kina Amit (9-ball singles) at Francisco dela Cruz (carom 1-cushion), habang ang tatlong bronze medals ay nagmula kina Reynaldo Grandea at Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes.
Pumangatlo rin si Reyes sa carom 1-cushion.
Nasibak naman si Francisco 'Django' Bustamante kay Ricky Yang, 3-8, sa semifinal round ng 8-ball singles.
Tumapos ang Thailand na may 2 gold, 2 silver at 1 bronze medal kasunod ang Vietnam (2-1-5), Indonesia (1-3-2), Singapore (1-1-3), Malaysia (1-0-3), 2013 host Myanmar (0-1-4) at Brunei (0-0-0).
"We look forward to the 27th SEA Games in Myanmar and would strive to maintain the three gold medals in pool with the goal of making it four," sabi pa ni Mananquil. "We congratulate our athletes who did their best and surpassed the association’s expectations."