Amit makes it to quarters

MANILA, Philippines – Rubilen Amit put one over heavily favored Tan Hsiang Ling of Chinese Taipei, 8-3, to arrange a quarterfinal showdown with Jeanette “The Black Widow” Lee of the US in the JBETpoker.net Women’s World 10-Ball Championship at the Sky Dome of SM North Edsa in Quezon City yesterday.

The win came after Amit disposed of Julie Kelly of Ireland, 8-4, in the first phase of the knockout stage as the top Filipino bet continued to sizzle with a string of victories after dropping her opening day match to world No. 1 Kelly Fisher of England.

But the 27-year-old Amit, now assured of $3,000, faces a tough task against Lee, one of the fancied bets in the $75,000 tournament, in the race-to-eight quarterfinals.

Wearing her usual super tight black outfit, Lee overpowered Tamara Rademakers of the Netherlands, 8-3, to the delight of the packed, highly-appreciative crowd.

“I feel good today (yesterday), it’s a nice feeling winning over a good player like her (Tan),” said Amit, runner-up in the 2007 Amway World 9-Ball Championship and three-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist.

Amit dominated Tan with her brilliant game as she went on to avenge her 5-7 loss in the Amway World Open last month in Taiwan.

However, Gillian Margarita Go, the 11-year-old wonder, bowed out of the tournament, losing to world No. 5 Cha Yu Ram of Korea, 3-8, in the first round of playoff.

Go appeared headed to pulling off a major upset and avenging a 2-5 loss to Cha in the eliminations when she grabbed a 3-2 lead. But she lost her poise and crumbled under pressure with errors, enabling Cha to seize the last six racks and the match.

“I gave my best, I’ll try again next time,” said Go.

Also ousted was Mary Ann Basas, who lost in the tiebreaker. She ended up tied with Kelly and Chou Chie Yu of Chinese Taipei in Group 4 in the elimination round but finished with the lowest number of racks won at 17 against Chou’s 20 and Kelly’s 18.

Amit got off to a strong start and was never in serious trouble against the Irish bet in the event presented by JBETpoker.net, Dragon Promotions and Bugsy Promotions and backed by 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.

The top finishers in each of the eight groups in the elims drew first round byes in the knockout stage.

The runner-up will receive $9,000. The losing semifinalists will take home $5,000 each, while those who will make it to the quarterfinals are assured of $3,000. The ninth to 16th placers will receive $1,500, while the 17th to 24th placers will get $1,000.