CARLO BIADO opens his campaign for a second World Games gold medal as action in men’s billiards kick off on Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama.
Biado won the men’s 9-ball event in Wroclaw, Poland, in 2019 for the country’s first gold medal at the World Games, a competition in sports played widely worldwide but aren’t on the Olympic program.
On Friday, it will be Rubilen Amit’s turn to compete in women’s billiards at the Sheraton Hotel Ballroom in Birmingham.
Biado, 38, is the reigning US Open 9-ball champion and gold medalist in the same event at the Vietnam 31st Southeast Asian Games last May. He plays Poland’s Wiktor Zielinski in the round of 16 tournament starting 2 p.m. (Alabama time).
Amit, a multiple world champion and SEA Games gold medalist, has Germany’s Pia Filler as her opponent also in the round of 16 of women’s 9-ball.
The Philippines has won two gold medals since joining the World Games in Santa Clara, California, in 1981. Junna Tsukii won the second in women kumite’s -50 kgs of karate last Saturday.
Still to compete in the 10-day games that were postponed a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Philippines Chef de Mission Patrick “Pato” Gregorio are Annie Ramirez, in jiu-jitsu on Friday, Philip Delarmino and Leeana Bade in muay on Saturday and Marion Kim Mangrobang, John Chicano and Fernando Caseres also during the weekend.