RUBILEN "Bingkay" Amit, the 2005 Southeast Asian Games double gold winner alongside fellow national team member Iris Ranola head the elite cast in the upcoming Asian International 9-Ball tournament dubbed as “ENERVA International Ladies Billiards Championship” on April 25 to 28, 2006 at the Robinson's Galleria fountain area in Mandaluyong City.
" I would like to thank Mr. Putch Puyat, BSCP president Ernie Fajardo, Solar Entertainment and Nature's Best products for staging the Asian 9-Ball Ladies tour," said the 24-years-old Amit in a recent interiew of this writer.
Amit and Rañola are now competing in the 2006 Japan Open in Tokyo, Japan in the ladies competition.
The “ENERVA International Ladies Championship” is duly sanctioned by the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports and the Billiard and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) headed by its president Ernesto "Ernie" Fajardo.
RP billiards patron and organizer Aristeo "Putch" Puyat said, " The recent success of the Philippine billiard team in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games has resulted in a renewed interest in the sport both from the Filipino audience and from the players themselves. Because of this, Puyat Sports Inc., Solar Entertainment and Nature's Best Products, Inc. have teamed up to stage the “ENERVA International Ladies Championship.”
" This event will bring together some of the biggest stars in Asian pool headed by double SEA Games gold medalist Rubilen Amit of the Philippines. Amit's sweep of the ladies events in the SEA Games prompted the pool community to see our female athletes as serious contenders for professional crowns," said Puyat, long-time benefactor of bosom-buddies Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante.
" Never before has there been an opportunity for our ladies to participate in a world class women's competition on home soil," added Puyat who bankrolled the Japan trip of Reyes, Bustamante and Amit which delegation head is Rolly "Lando" Vicente.
With the support of Enerva Energy Drink for Women, the Philippine contingent composed of Misses Amit, Ranola, Mary Ann Basas and Johanna Dee is expected to do very well in this event.
This tournament will also be a forerunner for the Asian Games which will be held in Qatar later this year where the Filipino cue masters will attempt to repeat their recent SEA Games success.
The main tournament will have 32 players in all with 16 seeded players from other Asian nations such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan.
Other Asian superstars are also expected to participate like 2005-2006 back to back world champion Ga Young Kim of Korea, Zhou Meng Meng of China and Akimi Kajitani of Japan.
The other 16 slots will be filled through a qualifying event to be held next month on April 24-25 at Paeng's Skybowl in Robinson's Galleria while the main tournament will be held on April 25-28 at the Robinson's Galleria fountain area and will be aired live over Solar Sports on April 25-28.
It is also the first of a series of events which are being planned to make up a professional ladies tour in South East Asia with proposed events in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.
For information on the entry conditions and the qualifying session, please call the Puyat Sports office at (02) 896-99-40.
