By JONAS TERRADO
The Philippines secured another gold in billiards after defending champion Chezka Centeno and Rubilen Amit advanced to the women’s 10-ball singles final of the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam Friday.
Centeno defeated Vietnam’s Xuan Vang Bui, 7-5, while Amit cruised past Thailand’s Nakjui Pennipa, 7-0, in their semifinal matches held Friday, May 20 at the Ha Dong Gymnasium.
It will be the second straight time that Centeno and Amit will square off for the gold in 10-ball, with the former prevailing during the 2019 edition held in Manila.
Their match is set Saturday at 10 a.m. local time (11 a.m. Manila time).
A victory will give Amit, 40, her 10th career SEA Games gold while Centeno, who is 18 years younger, is eyeing a fifth gold in the regional meet.
Following an early exit in the women’s 9-ball, Centeno came back strong with a 7-0 rout of Singapore’s Suvene Ng Yi Huai in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Amit started her quest to end the Games with two golds with a similar 7-0 victory over Suhana Dewi Sabtu of Malaysia in the quarters.
Johann Chua, winner of the men’s 9-ball singles, and Carlo Biado are also attempting to set up an all-Filipino final in men’s 10-ball when they face separate foes in the semifinals being played at presstime.
