Even with the country’s 19th gold medal already secured, the All-Filipina final of the 29th Southeast Asian Games women’s 9-ball tournament was not a walkover by any means.
Seventeen-year-old Chezka Centeno made an epic comeback against Rubilen Amit, 7-6, to win her second SEA Games gold medal, Sunday afternoon at the KLCC’s Hall 4 in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.
“Hindi ko inakala,” Centeno recalled. “Akala ko talaga talo na ako.”
And it was an unexpected win, as the native of Zamboanga City fell behind 0-3 early and 2-5 later on before winning four of the next four racks to gain a 6-5 edge.
Amit was able to send the game into a winner-take-all rack and was on the verge of clearing the 15th rack. However, a scratch by the 35-year-old Cebuana with two balls left ultimately gave Centeno gold.
“Damdamdamin ko ito,” said Amit, who was denied of her fifth gold in the regional meet.
Story from PSC-POC Media Group
