INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines – Rubilen Amit is humble enough to call herself “lucky” in becoming the country’s first female world champion in billiards.

Amit said it was an honor enough for her to be playing against the best female pool players in the world during the recent JBETPoker.net World Women’s 10-ball Championships.

The Cebu native defeated former world number on Jeanette “The Black Widow” Lee in the quarterfinals before closing out Japan’s Akimi Kajitani in the semis.

She completed her historic feat after demolishing two-time women’s world 9-ball champ Shin-Mei Liu of Taiwan.

She admits playing 10-Ball isn’t exactly her cup of tea, having won second place in the 2007 women’s world 9-ball championships along with three gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games.

The 27-year old Amit said her forte remains 9-ball, which was her ticket to success from her college days to turning pro.

Amid all the adulation after her triumph, she said she can still hardly compare herself to her idols Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante.

“Tatay Efren and Kuya Django have achieved so much yet they still want to learn and grow in this sport,” said Amit. Bustamante was seen at the sidelines during her final game against Liu.

Amit believes she still needs to improve some more, especially her break, She describes pool as a never ending process of learning to be best at it.

She started playing pool when she was around the same age as 11-year old Gillian Go, who became quite a sensation after qualifying in the recent 10-ball championships and making it into the round of 32.

Playing before a home crowd was a big confidence booster, she said. “Kung pwede ko lang nga silang idala sa bawat laban ko para ganahan ako [If only I can take them with me to watch every game],” Amit said in jest.

Amit does not deny her heartache after getting cut from the national women’s pool team but says she is more than willing to represent the Philippines abroad if given the chance.

“As long as I won’t be stepping on others’ toes, I am very much willing to play for the national team,” she said.

Since her win, it’s been a constant whirlwind of media interviews but she said she wants to make the most out of her newfound fame by inspiring more Filipino pool players.

More than her $20,000 reward and other prizes, she said she has earned a lot of friends after her victory. “Salamat po sa pagpapalakas ng loob ko. (I thank them all for their support),” she said.