Amit sees tough field of lady pool players in Asiad

The World 10-Ball Championship is all but history now for Rubilen Amit. Time to move forward and set a new goal, this time in the Guangzhou Asian Games, where the Filipina is one among the favorites. Amit, who lost to South Korea's Ga-Young Kim in the semifinals of the recently-concluded event held here, will participate in both the 8-Ball and 9-Ball competitions of the quadrennial event.

Although confident of winning the gold in the Asiad, the 29-year-old Accountancy graduate of University of Santo Tomas considers the field as tough as ever. Kim and her compatriot, Yu Ram Cha, Miyuki Fuke of Japan and 2005 Asian Games gold medalists Liu Shin Mei and Lin Yuan-Chun of Chinese Taipei are all formidable opponents and capable of winning in the quadrennial meet. "I'm confident that I can put up a strong showing in the Asian Games, but I still have to prepare and give my best," said Amit. Amit will be representing the country for the second straight time. In 2006, she only managed to advance to the Round-of-16 of the 8-Ball tilt and was denied by Thailand's Santhinee Jaisuekul of an outright quarterfinals entry. Amit is one among five Filipina cue artists who are going to play in Guangzhou. Also included in the lineup are veterans Iris Ranola and Mary Ann Basas and newcomers Floriza Andal and Zemonette Oryan. Ranola, who failed to enter the knockout stage of the world 10-ball tilt, is eyeing a better performance this time around. She nearly ended up winning a bronze medal in the 9-ball event four years ago in Doha, losing to Xiaoting Pan of China, 7-6. Basas, who skipped the world 10-ball, lost to China's Zhou Mengmeng in the quarterfinals of the 8-ball in 2006. Before flying to China, Amit will compete in the Philippine 9-Ball Open against male cue artists such as Efren "Bata" Reyes and Ronnie Alcano. The event starts on November 3 at SM North EDSA. - RCJ, GMANews.TV