Amit keeps PH bid alive in world 10-ball

FORMER world champion Rubilen Amit of the Philippines notched back to back wins yesterday and clinched a berth in the knockout stage of the Yalin Women’s World 10-Ball Championship at Resorts World Manila.

On a day when three of her compatriots faltered, Amit, the 2009 champion, restored pride for the country with a couple of emphatic victories that boosted her record to 3-0 in one of the toughest groups in the 48-player tournament.

Precise with her pocketing, Amit overwhelmed Finland’s Marika Poikkokki, 6-3, before drubbing Indonesia’s Angeline Ticolau via the same score in the afternoon session.

Amit can nail the top seed in her group with one more win and she stressed there will be no letup in her last two matches, including against Rañola who is on the brink of elimination after two straight losses.

The top player in the group gets an outright berth to the Round of 16 while the other two qualifiers from each group will dispute the remaining eight spots in the second knockout phase.

Demoralized by a controversial foul call, Rañola dropped a 3-6 decision to Ticolau Thursday night. She failed to recover her bearings and lost a nail biter to 2011 world 9-ball titlist Zhu Qing Bi of China, 5-6, for a 1-2 card.

Against Ticolau, Rañola was already ahead 3-2 when she was called for a foul because her hair had touched one of the balls on the table. The call threw Rañola off her rhythm, leading to a defeat that reduced her to tears.

Ironically, Amit and Rañola were slated to meet last night with Rañola needing to win to stay in contention.

The two other Filipinos in the tournament—Cheska Centeno and Gillian Go—also dropped their matches on Day 2 of the prestigious tournament.

The 14-year-old Centeno, playing in her second world championship, fell to 1-2 in Group 5 play after bowing Brittany Bryant of Canada, 5-6. Centeno must win her last two matches, including against Jasmin Ouschan of Austria today, to stay alive.