3-Cushion
OOSTERHOUT - Frédéric Caudron had saved his best for the final day of the cup final. Jean Paul de Bruijn had a spirited finish, and Steven van Acker stylishly showed his team the way in the semifinals. The team from Zeeland, Dallinga.com proved to be a true cup fighter in the Oosterhout tournament. They edged their rivals from the province of Brabant, MCB, on the final day. MCB is well underway to becoming the "eternal second" of Dutch billiards. With Zeeland winning the cup for the fourth time in five seasons, the Brabant team again failed to win a major prize, and it was so close so many times.
No matter how strong Roland Forthomme was in the prelims, no matter if Barry van Beers looked invincible, the cup was again denied to the team from Zundert. A thrilling final match, in front of reasonably filled stands for a change, tipped in favor of the Dallinga boys, who have won so many titles already in the past half decade.
Frédéric Caudron realized: ,,I was not at my very best the first few days, but I got into the groove just in time.'' Jean Paul de Bruijn: ,,It is a great ending to the season, this cup.'' Steven van Acker was a strong and important contributor on third board. Patrick Vasseur, the team captain, and his co-player on board four, Bart Ceulemans, could not play on the same level.
The final was a replay of the match in the group stage, when MCB could grab the win. Roland Forthomme, Peter Ceulemans, Barry van Beers and Raymon Groot were technically the favorites going into the final, based on that match. Oddly enough, the Zundert team relied on three winners up to that point, with Raymon Groot yet unable to bring the points home. In the decider, the youngest player in the team did show his qualities, with a convincing win over Patrick Vasseur (3-1) and an average of 1.572. With Barry van Beers having beaten Steven van Acker (3-2) and Frédéric Caudron getting past Roland Forthomme (3-1), the all-deciding match was the one between Peter Ceulemans and Jean Paul de Bruijn.
The position at that moment: 4-2 in favor of Medisch Centrum Breda. The match between JP and Peter Ceulemans was at 2-2 in sets, and the winner of the fifth set would give his team the cup. If de Bruijn won, the match would end in 4-4, but the margin in caroms made was favorable to Dallinga. If Peter Ceulemans would win, MCB from Zundert would win it outright.
The fifth set went neck and neck to 10-10, then 12-11, and with a final little run of three, de Bruijn won the cheers from his teammates in the arena.
Dallinga.com had made it to the final by beating Buffalo.nl: Frédéric Caudron whitewashing Glenn Hofman 3-0, Steven van Acker doing likewise against Jeffrey Jorissen, Herman van Daalen beating Patrick Vasseur 3-2, and the match between Jean van Erp and Jean Paul de Bruijn did not need to be finished, it was stopped at 2-1 in favor of van Erp.
Medisch Centrum Breda got to the final with a win over TOVV/Royal Pro, with Peter Ceulemans, Barry van Beers and Raymon Groot getting the better of Martin Spoormans, Richard Bitalis and Danny Molier.
Final ranking of the Jumbo cup final:
1 Dallinga.com 1.153-8
2 Medisch Centrum Breda 1.300-12
3 Buffalo.nl 1.112-11
3 TOVV/Royal Pro 0.986-9
5 Eureka Billard 1.080-8
6 Bousema Lochem 1.197-13
7 't Hartje/Van Wanrooy 1.040-8
8 BC Arnhem 0.850-9.
The award ceremony
Runner-up: MCB from Zundert
Third place: TOVV/Royal Pro from Vlaardingen
Third place: Buffalo.nl from The Hague