The Computer Studies (CS) Chameleons emerged victorious against the School of Nursing (SON) Panthers in the women’s category, 3-2, while the Social Sciences (SS) Dragons successfully swept the Business and Management (B&M) Vipers in the men’s nine-ball billiards tournament, 3-0.

In the women’s gold medal match, CS’ Faith Golusinda squared off against SON’s Breeshia Angelie Tayong in a hair-raising best-of-five racks setup, with Golusinda pushing the match into the fifth rack.

The Chammie expressed her thoughts as she held her composure during the intense fourth rack, where she eked out a 2-2 win against the SON Panthers’ strong contender.

“It was pretty hard kay lagi, hawd gud ang [taga] Nursing [in terms of] defense pero sa akoa man gud kay if mapildi ko, sayang akong giagihan; so I did my best throughout the game,” Golusinda stated in a post-game interview by Atenews. 

It was a see-saw battle between the two players, with SON Panthers’ Tayong gaining a tactical 1-0 win over CS Chameleons’ Golusinda, who answered with a 1-1 win.

By the third match, SON Panthers’ Tayong nabbed a 2-1 win on technicalities, as CS Chameleons’ Golusinda committed three successive fouls, handing the match to the other side.

Both players banked on defensive strategies, such as hiding the object ball behind other balls to secure a positional advantage over their opponent during the tie-breaking fifth rack.

CS’s Chameleons Golusinda breached the opponent’s defense with a tactical setup on the object ball, leading to the decisive combination shot that secured the Chameleons their gold medal.

“I did a defense sa one-ball and calculated na ma-point sya sa nine-ball at the same time na hindi sya [ma-pot] ng kalaban, and then she did not, so what I did next is that I potted the nine-ball using the one-ball na sinet-up ko as defense.”

In the men’s division, SS Dragons’ Ian Miguel Llanos blitzed his way to victory against B&M Vipers’ Shaun Lapido and last year’s champion Jedryl Lulu with a 3-0 shutout.

The game was short and quick, with SS Dragons’ Llanos blanking the opponents’ score sheet during the third rack by pocketing the nine-ball into the corner pocket through a carom shot, securing a fast finish.

When asked about his road to the finals, Llanos attributed his victories to luck, stating that the other competitors were tough to beat.

“Since first game pa lang daan, mga hawd jud sila, pero for me, maybe siguro luck nako to kay katong sa semis, swerte ra jud to akong shots kay na-scratch sa akong kalaban ang last ball.”

When asked about the decisive play, Llanos pointed out that the ball positioning pushed him to call the shot.

“Actually, kita ko nga straight ball siya, and lisod kaayo [i-position ang cue ball] sa next na bola, pero gitan-aw man nako and kaya man nako i-follow through ang bola, tapos butangan ra pa-kilid gamay, then mao to gi shoot nako siya.”

Meanwhile, Accountancy (ACC) Griffins won the bronze medal in the men’s division, and Natural Science and Mathematics (NSM) Falcons succeeded in the women’s bronze medal match.

The billiards tournament was held on September 27 at Cue Central Sports Bar and Lounge, Doña Vicenta.