The Accountancy (ACC) Griffins and the Business and Management (B&M) Vipers outplayed the billiards tournament, crushing the Social Sciences (SS) Dragons to second place in both men’s and women’s divisions.

In the women’s championship round, ACC’s lone competitor Rachelle Estremos faced off against SS’s Blezzyrynne Dela Peña and Princess Jaica Ramos in a fiercely contested first-to-five sets that extended to an intense five-to-eight.

As matches went on, Dela Peña and Ramos switched turns after two matches, reaching close call scores of 2-0 and 3-1.

Ramos tried to catch up on Estremos’ pace by switching with Dela Peña, scoring a 3-4 win tally. 

At the end of the eighth match, Estremos claimed victory and nabbed gold for ACC Griffins, besting the SS Dragons’ duo through her precision on continuous ball strikes.

Estremos emphasized the essence of putting one’s heart and mind into the game, allowing it to penetrate throughout the duration of the game. 

“Every ball is counted talaga. Kay, since this time, we had a tie-breaker and point system, so kailangan talaga dapat every ball mag pasok talaga, and yun, puso.”

Estremos also shared her firm belief in herself, serving as a way to overcome the challenges that led to her podium finish.

“During the preparation, I believe it’s academics. Since during the time, meron kaming mga quizzes and exams, may mga times na di ako naka practice. Pero, I believed in myself, because since bata pa ko, naka billiards na jud ko, and ginatudluan ko sa akong parents, so thankful ko, enough yun na maka podium ako,” she stated.

In the men’s division, B&M Vipers Jedryl Lulu and Pierrionne Corimo slithered their way to victory in the first-to-five match-up against SS Dragons Frederick Aqui and Gyorgy Bastida, striking them in 5-1 standing. 

“Naga focus lang jud ko sa table, like, walay nakapaligid sa akoa. Need jud na kabalo dapat ka mag defense, and dili nimo dapat pugson,” Lulu noted when asked about his game strategy.

“Honestly, the thing that contributed most, was probably when we went to have clear shots, played safe, and made sure that we won’t leave any ball hanging. One ball at a time. That’s all I thought of,” Corimo added.

The billiards tournament was held on September 15 at Cue Sports Bar and Lounge, Doña Vicenta.

Editor’s Note: As of posting, the third place is yet to be announced for both categories.