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How Rubilen Amit sunk sexism and self-doubt to be the first Pinay world pool champ
Men used to consider playing against her a “bonus round,” but it was thanks to their jeering that Rubilen Amit pursued billiards to become a world champion.
At the height of billiards' popularity, the sport was largely dominated by men. Because of this, Amit faced male opponents more often than not.
“Remembering back when I was younger… When I started out, it really was a man’s sport. To the point na sometimes, people would call it a vice,” Amit told GMA News Online.
She was 12 when she properly learned to use a cue stick. Playing pool started out as a bonding activity with her father.
Soon she was leaving her home in Cebu to compete in amateur tournaments in Manila, and that’s when she realized she had a long way ahead of her
“When I competed dito sa Manila ng mga amateur tournaments, since konti lang kami na women players, like one or two lang out of...a hundred players, I’d always be playing against a male opponent,” Amit recalled.
“Minsan naririnig ko, ‘O, pare, bonus na yan, babae ‘yung kalaban mo’,” she added.
But instead of letting it bring her down, Amit took it as a challenge. And it was the challenge that kept pushing her to continue pursuing the sport for more than two decades.
“I enjoy the challenge, na parang ‘Ha, akala mo ha’... ‘yun din ang nag-push sa akin to pursue the sport kasi mahilig ako sa challenge,” she said.
Slowly, Amit started to be recognized for her talent instead of her gender.
She joined the national team in 2005, and in 2009, she broke records by becoming the first Filipino woman to become a world pool champion.
Recently, she snatched the silver medal in the 2017 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games held in Kuapal Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mental chatter
Amit is nearly 36 now, and has been representing the Philippines in international competitions for 12 years. She has won a total of six SEA Games gold medals, four silvers, and one bronze. She claimed the WPA women's world 10-Ball title in 2009 and 2013.
But like all champions, Amit has an even greater number of losses.
“Ang hindi niyo nakikita, ang talo namin, ang dami-dami,” Amit said.
One loss stands out in particular, and Amit looks back on that moment often.
“2011, SEA Games. I also won silver, but it was the manner of how I lost. I played scared. I was doubting...I was very fearful. I felt na it wasn’t me,” she said.
“But when people ask me also kung ano yung pinaka-gusto ko na medal, I would say the same thing, because it taught me a lot,” she added.
That internal struggle, self-doubt, and crippling nervousness doesn’t quite go away. Amit said that in billiards, for all its silence on the table, invokes a lot of mental chatter.
“With our sport, you play against yourself,” she said.
Giving back
Amit has conquered sexism, world cups, and self-doubt, but she is far from done.
She assured that she is not planning on setting down her cue stick anytime soon.
While she has a particular age in mind to retire from the sport, Amit said that even that’s not set in stone.
“I have an age in mind, pero baka mamaya when I reach that age, ayaw ko pa pala,” Amit laughed.
But when it does happen, Amit plans to make her retirement worth it.
“Hopefully by that time, I’d be able to give back naman sa sport. I’d be able to teach the younger generation, and be able to help and guide the younger ones,” she said. — LA/KVD, GMA News
