Centeno new queen of 10-Ball

MANILA, Philippines — The WPA World 10-Ball women’s crown has returned to the Philippines, the billiards epicenter.

It was signed, sealed and delivered by a young, extraordinary lady from Zamboanga City who dared to dream – Chezka Centeno.

Or world champion Chezka Centeno.

Beating one legend after another, Centeno punctuated her fairy tale story with a 9-5 decimation of three-time world 9-ball titlist Yu Han of China on a magical Sunday night in Klagenfurt, Austria and crowned herself the new 10-ball queen.

The four-time Southeast Asian Games gold winner was nothing short of electric in her disposal of Yu, seizing a commanding 4-1 edge that the latter never relinquished. She unveiled one spectacular shot after another in a near flawless performance that netted her $50,000 (P2.8 million) or the biggest purse in the history of women’s pool.

When she drained the final ball, Centeno screamed in jubilation, shook the hands of Yu, bowed before the loud and appreciative crowd that included flag-waving Filipinos, and, when it all sank in, shed tears of joy.

Then Rubilen Amit, a two-time world 10-ball titlist and Centeno’s idol and mentor, handed the new world champion the Philippine flag that she draped over her slim body.

“It was my dream to be world champion,” she said crying and laughing at the same time while being interviewed by the game announcer with Amit, also in tears, by her side.

It was a moment that reverberated back home to 113.9 million Filipinos who are always hungry for sports glory.

It was a Cinderella finish that Centeno laced with equally mammoth triumphs over world pool icons Allison Fisher of England twice, the first coming in the elimination round and the other in the semis, last year’s winner Chou Chieh-Yu of Chinese Taipei in the quarters and Yu.

Centeno’s victory over Yu also avenged Amit’s stinging 9-3 setback to the Chinese in the quarters, shutting the door on the latter’s bid to reclaim the crown she last won exactly a decade ago.