CHEZKA Centeno and Rubilen Amit arranged an all-Filipina final in the women’s 9-ball singles on Friday in the 30th Southeast Asian Games billiards competition.
Centeno won over Aye Mi Aung of Myanmar, 7-4, while Amit, the former world 10-ball champion, beat Thandar Maung of Myanmar, 7-2, in their semifinal outings.
Centeno and Amit now face each other for the gold medal on Saturday at the Manila Hotel Tent.
It will be the third time the two will battle for the gold in the SEA Games, with Centeno winning all the matches. This time, though, they will take on each other in the 10-ball event where Amit is a former world champion.
“Excited po ako. Wala naman pressure (sa finals). Manalo, matalo, ayos na po ‘yun,” said the soft-spoken Centeno.
Saturday will be a busy day for the two players as aside from the 10-ball final, Amit and Centeno will team up in the 10-ball doubles and will play in the 9-ball singles semifinal.
Amit is excited to team up with Centeno for the first time.
“It’s going to be fun kasi may doubles kami sa morning and then may semis kami, tapos finals in the evening. Pagod na fun,” said Amit.
“First of all, ‘yung doubles namin, sobrang nilu-look forward ko ‘yun dahil kami ni Pogi (Centeno), lagi kong sinasabi excited na ako doubles na natin bukas.
"And then sa semis, ‘yun ang kailangan naming i-focus. Sa finals sa evening, kami naman, wala na ‘yung pressure. Kung ano man, i-present ng bola, kung sino bigyan ng favor ng bola, siya mananalo,” said Amit.
Meanwhile, Dennis Orcollo beat Duong Quoc Hoang of Vietnam, 9-5, to advance to the semifinals of the men’s 9-ball singles.
The victories by Centeno, Amit, and Orcollo made up for the defeats of the Philippine snooker doubles team and Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes in other events.
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