INQUIRER Sports

THE Philippines? top women billiards players, Iris Rañola and Rubilen Amit, are making big strides in the world of pool.

After only a few years in the sport, Iris and Rubilen are now eyeing a much bigger stake, joining the handful of women billiards greats.

Rañola recently won the Arizona Women?s Billiards Tour in Tucson, nosing out American Emily Wilmoth, 7-6, in the finals.

In the US Open, Rañola made us all proud when she reached the grand finals and ended up in second place when she lost to the sport?s new no.1 Kelly Fisher, 7-1, in the finals.

Playing in only her second Women?s Professional Billiards Association tournament, Rañola proved to be a giant-killer, defeating no.1 ranked veteran Allison Fischer and no. 2 ranked Ga Young Kim in hill-hill classics to make pool fans sit up and take notice of the petite Filipina.

A native of Divisoria, Zamboanga, and a mainstay of Puyat Sports, Rañola also won last year?s national women?s pool championship under the auspices of the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines.

Amit needs no further introduction. A former call center employee, Amit is the country?s foremost and most popular woman billiards player today. She won two gold medals at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games and finished runner-up to China?s Pan Xiaoting at the 2007 Amway WPA Women?s 9-Ball Championship at the Taipei Gymnasium in Taiwan.

On her way to the finals, Amit, now 26, upset two former world champions, Kim Ga-young of South Korea and Allison Fisher of Britain.