Amit finishes off Indon, captures 10-ball gold

NAY PYI TAW â€“ World 10-ball champion Rubilen Amit used her vast experience on the world stage of the money game to exact revenge on Indonesian tormentor Angeline Magdalena in a 7-2 runaway victory to annex the second and last gold of the national team at the close of billiards competitions last night at the billiards and snooker hall of the Wunnum Theikdi National Sports Complex here.

After a 1-1 draw, Amit made sure the gold would not slip her again after the Indonesian beat her and Iris Rañola in the 9-ball event, as she led rack after rack on her way to the gold medal.

“I’m not irked anymore at the pace of the Indonesian. In the 9-ball event, she was taking too much time to take her shots and this unsettled me, but today she was making her shots pretty fast,” said Amit.

Rañola, who threw up in the comfort room and collapsed a day earlier, again lost to the Indonesian in the semifinal round, 7-2. Magdalena advanced to the finals against Amit, the world 10-ball champion this year and in 2009.

Rañola settled for the bronze.

The billiards team of former world champions had counted on the 9-ball and 10-ball events in both the men’s and women’s category for four gold medals but losses in the men’s and women’s 9-ball reduced the output to two golds.

It started with the loss of Amit and Rañola in the 9-ball event where Magdalena crushed Rañola, 7-3, in the quarterfinals and Amit in the finals, 7-3.

“I was over-eager to win in the 9-ball finals, but in the 10-ball, I kept my calm,” said Amit. “I’m dedicating this victory to the Lord and all those who supported me.”

The other gold came from Dennis Orcollo who beat Carlo Biado, 9-7, in an all-Filipino final in the 10-Ball event.

Orcollo ousted Ahmad Thufig in the first round, Thai Nitiwat (9-4), and Vietnamese Anh Tuan (9-3) to advance to the finals where he rallied from 5-7 down to beat Biado, 9-7.

Biado took out Indonesian Ryan Sitiawan in the first round (9-6), Keng Kwang of Singapore in the quarterfinals (9-4).

On her way to the 10-ball title, Amit won over Huyen Thi Ngoc  of Vietnam, 7-1, in the semifinals to advance to finals of 10-ball singles.

Aside from two golds from Amit and Orcollo and a silver from Biado, the Filipinos also had three bronze medals from Rañola in the 10-ball, and Francisco dela Cruz and Efren Reyes in the carom one cushion, where they both lost to Vietnamese.