WOW Pinoy

Iris Rañola and Rubilen Amit making headway in world billiards

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, that of joining the handful of women billiards greats. I say that is not hard to achieve. They are still young, thus I expect many good years ahead of them. Rañola recently won the Arizona Women’s Billiards Tour in Tucson, nosing out American Emily Wilmoth, 7-6, in the finals. According to RP team coach Boyet Asonto, Wilmoth had asked for a break after a 4-4 stalemate and, when play resumed, the American stormed to a 6-4 lead. But the Philippine bet did not lose heart and squared the count before scoring a dramatic come-from-behind 7-6 victory. A native of Divisoria, Zamboanga, Rañola earlier finished runner-up at the US Women’s Open 9-Ball tournament. A mainstay of Puyat Sports, Rañola also won last year’s national women’s pool championship under the

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. After her smashing performance, Amit thanked sportsman Aristeo “Putch” Puyat for sponsoring her trip to Taipei; coaches Boyet Asonto and Ramon Ancaja, teammates Mary Ann Basa, Johanna Dee and Rañola for staying by her side; her parents and, most especially, the Lord Almighty for giving her many blessings.

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