Rubilen ready for world 10-ball title defense

BEMEDALLED Rubilen Amit is focused on retaining the World Women’s 10-Ball Championship which she won last year by thoroughly outclassing two-time world titleholder Liu Shin-mei, 10-4, at the SM North in Quezon City.
“My priority right now is winning the world crown again,” said the 29-year-old Amit, a mean machine with a heart of steel from Cebu. “I really want to defend my title.”
This year’s World Women’s 10-Ball Championship is set for Oct. 24 to Nov. 1 in Manila.
Amit gave up a well-paying job at a call center company to pursue her love of billiards. She started her pool career when she was only 13.
Through dint of hard work, Amit finished her schooling, eventually graduating with a BS Accounting degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
Together with the legendary Efren “Bata” Reyes, Amit added another feather to her cap later in 2009 when the formidable tandem sparked Team Philippines to victory in the International Mixed Doubles Classic. The Filipinos nipped the Korean pair of Charlie Williams and Park Eun-Ji, 9-7, in the finals.
The country’s most dominant female player in history, Amit has had successful stints in three consecutive Southeast Asian Games, starting with the 2005 SEA Games in Manila.
In 2005, an in-form Amit won both the women’s 8-ball and 9-ball gold medals. Then in the 2007 SEA Games in Bangkok, the Filipina hotshot retained the 9-ball gold handily, but settled for the bronze in 8-ball.
Amit exacted revenge in the 2009 Laos SEA Games by topping both the 9-ball and 8-ball competitions to become one of only four Filipino double-gold medal winners in the biennial sportsfest.
She credited her rise in billiards to longtime mentor Edgar “Boyet” Asonto, whose rigorous training regimen has shaped her career. She also paid tribute to the support of benefactor Aristeo “Putch” Puyat of Puyat Sports.
“My confidence was boosted by Sir Putch, who pitted me against the country’s leading male players,” said Amit. “He honed me to perfect my performance starting with the 2005 SEA Games here.”
Amit was named Philippine Sportswriters Association Co-Athlete of the Year for 2009 together with four other golden girls, namely, Asian Athletics Championship long jump queen Marestella Torres and the World Taekwondo Poomsae team gold medalists Rani Ann Ortega, Camille Alarilla and Janice Lagman.
Despite playing in only two of five World Pool Billiards Association-sanctioned tournaments, Amit has managed to break into the WPA’s elite list of top 10 money winners.
A mean feat, indeed.