Coklu stumbles over last point in Sluiskil

VLAARDINGEN - Frédéric Caudron has given himself the confidence he needs for the start of the Belgian championship this week. One day after his defeat by Michael Nilsson, the Belgian took a prestigious victory over his compatriot Eddy Merckx. Caudron needed only sixteen innings for a 50-42 win.

Crystal Kelly won the match against TOVV 7-1, because only Dave Christiani and Frans van Kuik shared the points. Van Donge and De Roo, the leader, again shined with a 8-0 victory, now against De Vrachtkar. Martin Horn played the best match of the day in 23 innings, Dick Jaspers won in 26 innings, Torbjörn Blomdahl in 32 and Ad Koorevaar in 39.

Dekker Keukens and Snellen Recycling, two rivals for a place in the playoffs, ended their match with a draw. Jef Philipoom won the top clash with Roland Forthomme with only four points 50-46 in 34 innings. John Tijssens made an excellent impression in the team of Dekker, winning his match in 28 innings, Harry van der Ven was even better in his match against Jacob Haack-Sorensen, which he won in 27 innings.

Delta booked an important victory over DBL: 6-2. The most exciting match was played by Eddy Leppens and Murat Naci Coklu. The Turk missed his last carom to tie with Leppens: 50-49 in 25 innings. Stefan Galla had one of his beste matches, he defeated Jean Paul de Bruijn in 22 innings.