Amit nears KO phase; Go falls

MANILA, Philippines – Top RP bet Rubilen Amit blasted Su I Yun of Chinese Taipei, 5-1, yesterday to zero in on one of the berths in the 32-player knockout phase in the JBETpoker.net Women’s World 10-Ball Championship at the Sky Dome of SM North Edsa in Quezon City.

A day after splitting her first two matches with Kelly Fisher of England, 1-5, and Charlene Chai of Singapore, 5-1, Amit stamped her class over Si to move within a win from advancing to the next round.

“I’m usually a slow starter,” said Amit, the three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist who also had a struggling start in the 2007 Amway World 9-Ball Championship where she rallied to finish second.

Amit was playing fellow RP bet Mica Claveria (1-1) at presstime.

Opening day sensation Gillian Go, however, flinched under pressure as she took a pair of 2-5 setbacks to world No. 5 Yu Ram Cha of Korea and Liu Shing Mei of Chinese Taipei.

The 11-year-old Go, who shocked Australian No.1 Lyndall Hulley, 5-3, Tuesday, lost composure in her first TV table appearance at the main lobby of The Block in SM City North Edsa, making a series of errors against Cha and eventually absorbing her first loss.

The match was shown live on Studio 23 and ESPN.

Go failed to regain her bearing as she faced Liu less than an hour later with the Taiwanese pouncing on the Filipina bet’s miscues to fashion out the win.

To stay in the hunt, Go must sweep her last two games against Laetitia Dos Santos of France and Tina Meraglio of the United States.

Iris Ranola, one of the country’s best bets here, eked out a 5-4 win over Hyun Ji Won of Korea to notch her first victory after a pair of stinging setbacks in Tuesday’s opener.

Ranola, the 2008 WPBA Rookie of the Year, swept the first four racks but yielded the next four, enabling Hyun to force a hill-hill match.

“I just didn’t give up,” said Ranola in Filipino.

Mary Ann Basas self-destructed against Julie Kelly of Ireland and dropped a 2-5 loss to even her card at 1-1. She beat Japanese Akimi Kajitani, 5-1, in the first round.

Backing the event are The Philippine STAR, Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines, ABS-CBN, SM Mall North Edsa, Magic 89.9, Predator Cues, Takini Billiard Cloth, Aramith, Puyat Sports and Bugsy Promotions.