By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Back in 2007, Rubilen Amit came tantalizingly close to hoisting what was supposed to be her first 9-ball crown only to fall at the hands of her Chinese counterpart.
It took her 17 years to make it back to where she was during that time and, as if it was a work of fate, she was up against another Chinese rival.
The difference? Amit would not be denied this time around.
The 42-year-old Amit made sure to create history on Sunday, Sept. 8, by becoming the first Filipina to win the WPA World Women’s 9-Ball Championship after beating China’s Chen Siming, 1-4, 4-2, 4-2, 4-3, in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Learning from the country’s best that include Efren “Bata” Reyes whom she considered like a father, Amit leaned on an impressive second-set performance to crawl back from a 0-1 set deficit and accomplish her unfinished business.
Playing in the sixth rack of the second set and after Chen made a safety shot on the one-ball, Amit delivered a two-way shot and sank the nine-ball in the mid-pocket to clinch the second set of the $175,000 tournament
The shot – which reminded one of Reyes’ jaw-dropping magic tricks – wowed the crowd, boosting Amit’s confidence even more.
She then dictated the tone of the match while also overcoming some nerve-wracking moments the rest of the way.
And then the fateful moment came.
After sinking the last ball, Amit nearly wept in celebration, then went on to hug Chen, the referee, and teammate, Chezka Centeno, whom she beat in the Round of 16 of the knockout stage.
Chen actually tried to fight back with some moments of brilliance, particularly in the fourth set, where she recovered from a 1-2 deficit to surge ahead 3-2.
But nerves caught up with the Chinese as she missed what looked like an easy 8 to the corner pocket.
It gave Amit the opportunity to clean the rack for a 3-all, then held her ground to sweep the next.
The victory was sweeter for Amit. She lost to another Chinese rival in Pan Xiaoting in the 2017 finals. She also made it to the semifinals in 2018 and 2019.
She was also the first Filipina world champion after winning the 2009 world women’s 10-ball title, then followed it up with another crown in the 2013 edition. With the feat, Amit joined fellow cue artist Carlo Biado as the country’s world billiards champions. Biado captured the World 10-ball Champion early this year.
In winning the crown, Amit had to dig deep into her bags of tricks before emerging from the losers’ qualification to advance to the 16-player knockout stage where she toppled teammate Centeno (3-1), Chinese Taipei’s Wi Tzu-Chien (3-2) and Kristina Tkach (3-2), one after another in the race-to-4, best-of-five format.
