Philippines’ Amit, Centeno competing in two separate tourneys abroad next month

RUBILEN AMIT and Chezka Centeno, Philippine women’s billiards’ two-headed dragon, will seek to write history as they wade into battle in two separate tournaments abroad next month.

Ms. Amit, the reigning world women’s nine-ball titlist, accepted the invitation to join the men’s World Nine-ball tilt slated July 21 to 26 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where she will face the planet’s best and brightest of the opposite sex.

If she finds her shots and the stars align, Ms. Amit, a two-time world 10-ball queen, could end up earning a shot at becoming the first female winner of the male-dominated event.

But the 43-year-old eight-time Southeast Asian Games gold winner isn’t thinking that far ahead.

“I was invited, being the world women’s nine-ball champion and I decided to join,” Ms. Amit told The STAR on Thursday.

For Ms. Centeno, the 25-year-old 2003 world 10-ball winner, she will embark on a mission for a crack at becoming the first world women’s eight-ball winner in the event set July 2 to 6 at the Oneida Casino Hotel in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

“She (Ms. Centeno) has left already and she’s competing in the very first world championship for eight-ball,” said Ms. Centeno. — Joey Villar