10-ball: Amit blows chance to top Group 6

FILIPINO bet Rubilen Amit would have preferred a more relaxed Sunday where she could hear mass and get more time to rest.

Instead, she left herself with a more difficult task in her bid to reclaim the world 10-ball title.

The 2009 champion absorbed her first loss in the Yalin World Women’s 10-Ball Championship, dropping a 2-6 decision to Ho Yun-tan of Chinese-Taipei yesterday at Resorts World Manila.

The defeat denied Amit the top seed in Group 6 and prevented her from clinching an outright spot in the Round of 16.

Amit will need to survive the first knockout phase today for a place in the Round of 16.

Amit, who finished group play with a 4-1 record, was left even more disappointed upon learning that she needed to win one more rack against Ho to clinch the top seed due to the first tiebreak rule of racks won.

The Cebuana, a former SEA Games gold medalist, had the match under control at 2-0 when she bungled a long shot on the nine ball in the third rack.

Ho, whose lone loss came against Iris Rañola, 2-6, last Thursday, was quick to capitalize and the 2013 World 9-Ball tournament semifinalist won six straight racks to take the match and the top seeding in the group due to the winner over the other rule.

Amit will be the only Filipino in the knockout stage of the 48-player tournament after Rañola and teenagers Cheska Centeno and Gillian Go failed to qualify from their respective groups.

Rañola’s qualification hopes ended Friday night when she bowed to Amit, 3-6, while Centeno suffered a 1-6 loss to Jasmin Ouschan of Austria for a 1-3 record in Group 5.

Go, 16, remained winless in four matches after a 3-6 loss to 17-year-old Kamila Khodjaeva of Belgium.