Denise ‘Denden’ Cabilio Santos outplayed Sylvanna Lu of Indonesia, 9-6, to rule the Lion Cup 9-Ball Invitational Tournament in Singapore held over the weekend.
A Bugsy Promotions protégée, Santos banked heavily on her superior breaks that saw her get off to a strong start , taking a 6-3 lead before warding off the spirited comeback of her Indonesian rival.
The Indon even knotted the count at 6-all but the rising Filipina star refused to be intimidated, coming through with tough shots to finally finish off her rival.
The title win was doubly memorable for the graduating Polytechnic University of the Philippines student as this was her first international tournament.
“Unexpected po pero pinaghandaan ko ito pero nung makita ko ang lalakas ng kalahok, pinairal ko na lng ang motivation na I’m from the Philippines na iginagalang sa larangan ng billiards. Diskarte ang panalo kontra experience this time,” said Santos.
She credited her title win to the all-out support of Bugsy Promotions of Perry and Hadley Mariano, Mezz Cue, My Boo’s Closet Bad Boy Billiards and Aria Pool Things.
In advancing to the final, Santos, who practically grew up in a billiards community in Pateros, beat local bet Ng Yi Huai Suvene while the Indon subdued another local player in Jessica Yen Hui Ming.
