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Unheralded Sakbieng Siththideth delivered the first gold medal for Laos in the SEA Games snooker competition at the Kuala Lumpur Convention CentreĀ on Sunday.
Sakbieng defeated Phaithoon Phonbun from Thailand 4-1 in the final of the menās singles event.
āThis is the first gold for Laos in the SEA Games and I thanked my fellow countrymen for supporting me all this while,ā said an elated Sakbieng.
The Philippines pocketed another gold in pool after Carlo Biado ruled the menās 9-ball event in the GamesĀ on Sunday.
This is the Philippinesā second gold medal in billiards after Chezka Centeno triumphed over Rubilen Amit in womenās 9-ball.Ā Biado beat Vietnamese Duong Quoc Hoang, 9-5, in the championship round.
Singaporeās eight-year wait for a snooker gold medal finally came to an end as the Republicās cueists emerged victorious in the menās doubles final four days ago.
Chan Keng Kwang and Tey Choon Kiat beat Thailandās Phaitoon Phonbun and Issara Kachaiwong 3-1 to earn Singapore their first snooker gold since Ang Boon Chin and Lim Chun Kiat won in 2009 at Laos.
The duoās path to victory was far from easy though. After a hard-fought 3-2 victory in the semi-finals over hosts and defending champions Malaysia, the pair conceded the first frame to the Thais, before coming back strong to claim the next three.
