Indon bet sweeps Amit, grieving Rañola

NAY PYI TAW – An unheralded Indonesian conquered grieving Iris Rañola in the lower bracket, and used it as a psychological boost to defeat world 9-ball champion Rubilen Amit in the finals to win the gold in the 9-ball event of the Southeast Asian Games billiards competition last night at the billiards hall of the Wunnum Theikdi National Sports Complex.

Rañola, still devastated over the loss of her dad, groped for form as she faced Angeline Magdaena, who got all the breaks she had, including missed shots that ended as safety shots, to score a 7-3 win in the quarterfinal round.

Then, the Indonesian squeezed past Myanmar’s Ami Aung, 7-6, to arrange a title match with Amit, who beat Vietnamese Thi Ngocle, 7-6, in the other semifinal duel.

That gave Amit the silver and Rañola the bronze following the bronze medal finishes of Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco dela Cruz  in the carom 1 ball cushion.

“Babawi tayo (We’ll strike back),” a more composed Rañola said, hoping to take advantage of the four-day break before the 10-ball event on Dec. 18 to focus on her game.

“We are pressured to win four gold medals (men’s and women’s 9-ball and 10-ball) but at least we still have three to think about,” said team manager Robert Mananquil.

Dennis Orcollo and Carlo Biado walk into the hall today, carrying with them gold medal hopes of the team in the 9-ball event where they are seeded in separate halves of the draw.

The next day, they again compete in the 10-ball event, before Amit and Rañola return for the 10-ball event Dec. 18-19.