By REYNALD MAGALLON
It will be an all-Filipina affair in the 2025 WPA Women’s 10-Ball World Championship.
That, after Rubilen Amit and Chezka Centeno arranged a final showdown following a pair of dominant victories in the semifinals in Bali, Indonesia on Sunday, Oct. 12.
Centeno made quick work of Shasha Liu of China 4-3, 4-3, 4-3, while Amit needed an extra set to take down Margarita Fefilova of Individual Neutral Athletes, 4-1, 4-0, 2-4, 4-0 to forge the All-Filipino duel also set later in the day.
The winner will go home with the top prize of $50,000 while thew runner-up gets $25,000.
Though a sweep victory for Centeno, the outcome didn’t exactly show how tight the contest was for the 26-year-old pool master.
Centeno had to repeatedly fend off Liu all throughout the contest – the last when she made it to the hill first but her Chinese counterpart capitalized on her mistake on the six-ball to tie the third set three apiece.
The Filipina, however, would not be denied on the next rack, taking full advantage of a dry break from Liu and clearing the table to punch the ticket to the Finals.
It was pretty-much the same story for Amit as after cruising through the first two sets, she found a fighting Fefilova who took the last two racks in the third frame to pull away from a 2-2 deadlock and get into the board.
That, however, turned out to be the last two racks that Fefilova would score as Amit coolly took care of the four straight racks in the fourth frame to secure the win.
With the win, the 44-year-old pool master put herself in the position to win her third world 10-ball crown – which she last won 12 years ago or since she took down Kelly Fisher for the 2013 crown.
Centeno, on the other hand, is seeking his second crown in the tournament after winning first in 2023. She is also looking to erase the bitter taste of her semifinals loss last year, denying her the chance of going back-to-back.
Centeno overcame a two-set deficit against Chinese Taipei’s Wan-Lin Wang to secure a reverse sweep, 1-4, 3-4, 4-1, 4-0, 4-1 and the semis slot while Amit defeated Chieh-Yu Chou, 4-1, 4-3, 1-4, 0-4, 4-1 to also secure a spot in the Final Four.
