By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Two-time world champion Rubilen Amit kicked off her title campaign with back-to-back victories at the 2025 WPA Women’s 10-Ball World Championship in Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
The Cebuana cue artist, eyeing a historic third crown, delivered flawless performances over Venezuela’s Mirjana Grujicic and Chinese Taipei’s Hong Xin-Yu on the way to scoring similar 2-0 wins to advance early in the winner’s qualification.
She needs to play extra sharp against Taiwanese rival Wan-Ling on Friday, Oct. 10, if she wants the PH flag flying as other Filipina bets – Chezka Centeno included – were relegated to the loser’s bracket after faltering starts.
Centeno, the 2023 champion and 2024 semifinalist, opened her bid with a victory over Canada’s Brittany Bryant, but bowed to Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chia Hua, 2-1.
She is battling American Savannah Easton at press time to keep her campaign alive.
Still in contention are Sofhia Rosales, who is facing fellow Filipina Denise Santos, and Carmille Buhat, who is battling against Indonesia’s Anita Kanjaya.
Rosales bowed to Belarusian veteran Margarita Fefilova, 2-1, in her opening round match, while Santos yielded to Chinese Taipei’s Cho Chieh-Yu with a similar 2-1 score in her second match after her first-round opponent Adriana Villar of the Netherlands was disqualified.
Like Centeno, Buhat had a strong start with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Canada’s Joanne Ashton, but suffered a 2-0 beating from defending champion Kristina Tkach in this double elimination phase.
