3-Cushion
APELDOORN - What a final day in the Buffalo league it was. Jean van Erp stole the show with a super match (40 in 9 innings), A1 Biljarts completed a tough job against HCR Prinsen (6-2 win) and was rewarded with a play-off spot, joining MCB and Eureka. Bousema Lochem found safety at the expense of Burgmans Biljarts, that spent just one season in the top league. The first play-off matches, to decide who will face Eureka, must be played before 13 April. Medisch Centrum Breda, having finished second, will decide who starts at home.
The ending to a long league season still had a lot of excitement in store, in various rooms. Not so much the encounter in The Hague between Buffalo.nl and TOVV/Royal Pro, there was nothing at stake there. But still, it produced the best match of the season. Jean van Erp had an amazing start against Birol Uymaz, with 5-2-10-11, giving him 28 points after 4 innings. Two innings later he had added another 5, and in 9 innings van Erp reached his target: 40-16 in 9, 4.444 average, a personal best. It is also the best match of the entire league season, eclipsing even Gerwin Valentijn and Murat Naci Coklu who both had 4.000 matches (40 in 10). Frédéric Caudron scored 3.333 and three players recorded 3.076: Dick Jaspers, Eddy Merckx and Tayfun Tasdemir. It is quite a list to be on top of, Jean van Erp!
,,I played perfectly, as in a dream: a lot of position play of course, and I often hit the advantageous side of the third ball'', said van Erp, all smiles after the match. ,,After that start with 28 in 4, I made a 4 in the 6th inning, then missed a short-angle shot I had to play with a little draw: too short. In the 8th inning, four, playing for two, I missed a sensitive little shot by a few millimeters, but in the 9th inning I could finish.'' The player from Brabant saw it as a good comeback from two bad matches against the "Ceulemansen". ,,The best match I've ever played, and the best of the year in the Netherlands, how nice is that?''
It was a special day in many ways. Peter De Backer beat Eddy Merckx in 14 innings, Peter Ceulemans used an inning less against Jean Paul de Bruijn and Gökhan Salman beat Sander Jonen in 15, with Jonen playing a very decent 1.400. Frans van Kuyk needed 17 innings to get past Tayfun Tasdemir.
The final day was mostly about the play-offs, and the second relegation spot. A1 Biljarts, bringing Michael Nilsson for the first time, had a flawless start against HCR Prinsen, and they needed a win to reach the play-off. Gerwin Valentijn beat Anno de Kleine 40-28 in 24 and Martien van der Spoel stayed ahead of Raymund Swertz by a single point, because the Prinsen player produced four points in the equalizer where he needed five.
Peter De Backer dominated his match against Eddy Merckx after the break, winning 40-20 in 14 innings (from 21-8 in 7 and 29-13 in 9). The fate of A1 Biljarts then lay in the hands of Michael Nilsson, who needed a draw or betteragainst Jelle Pijl to send A1 into the extended competition. The Swede did not disappoint as super-sub. He had the lead all through his match with Pijl, made the gap with a run of 7 and won it decisively: 40-18 in 13 innings.
It created a boisturous atmosphere in the capacity-filled room, with some 80 lively spectators. Teamcaptain Addy Wienk said later that his team for next season will definitely consist of Martien van der Spoel, Henk Blauwblomme, Addy Wienk and Michael Nilsson as sub. ,,We are still negotiating with two other players, more decisions will be made later this week.''
,,I am glad we could bring Michael Nilsson for this final match. The intention was to have him play three or four more, but his daughter was born prematurely which made it impossible for him to come over. Today, he made the difference for us, because - in view of Merckx losing - it would have been a difficult task without him.
Bousema Lochem grabbed the last straw to stay in the league, it won both matches in the double weekend. On Saturday, they beat 't Hartje/Van Wanrooy 5-3, on Sunday there was a maximum 8-0 win against TOVV 2, with Gökhan Salman (run of 11) as best winner against Sander Jonen (40-21 in 15). Murat Naci Coklu beat Kay de Zwart 40-19 in 21, Therese Klompenhouwer got past Scheffer, Harry van de Ven beat Windt, using 35 and 31 innings respectively. ,,We are very relieved'', said team captain Ronny Hazewinkel, ,,because I would not have placed a bet on it beforehand.''
Medisch Centrum Breda proved it was the rightful nr. 2 of the table with a 6-2 win over Dallinga.com. Peter Ceulemans shone with a 40-17 in 13 inning win over Jean Paul de Bruijn, one of the many high quality matches of this Sunday. In the first session, Barry van Beers and Raymon Groot had beaten Steven van Acker and Patrick Vasseur in 19 and 48 innings. Frédéric Caudron was Dallinga's only winner with a nice 40-30 in 25 against Forthomme.
Burgmans Biljarts did all it still could do, and won the last encounter with Eureka Billard (6-2). Marco Janssen recorded a quality win over Dave Christiani, 40-30 in 20 innings. Raimond Burgman won the only Eureka match when he beat Rik van Beers in 20 innings. Bert van Manen beat John Tijssens, as he did in the first half of the competition, this time by 40 points to 36 in 31 innings.
Team Eekhoorn, at home, was slightly better than 't Hartje/Van Wanrooy (5-3). Frans van Kuyk played a major part in that, beating Tayfun Tasdemir 40-16 in 17 innings. Kurt Ceulemans beat Savas Bulut, and in the first session Jerry Hermans and Ad Broeders drew in 32 innings. Davy van Havere got past Kenny Miatton, 40-29 in 30 innings. Erik van Woerkom, their well known referee, said: ,,It was a derby with a fantastic atmosphere, we had 150 partisan but still sporty fans in the room. For great 3-cushion, you have to come to Oosterhout.''
Buffalo.nl won the last match against TOVV/Royal Pro 5-3. Adding to Jean van Erp's majestic 9 inning match, were Jeffrey Jorissen's win in 19 innings against Martin Spoormans, and a draw between Semih Sayginer and Glenn Hofman, also in 19 innings.
There was also remarkable news from the transfer desk: Eddy Leppens leaves Bousema Lochem and he will join HCR Prinsen next season. The Belgian explained: ,,We discussed all of it openly, and I could not pass up the offer from Prinsen. I have played the classic disciplines there, and I've always felt at home. besides, it is a good challenge for me to play in a team with Dick Jaspers.''
Peter De Backer considers leaving Prinsen. ,,With Dick Jaspers and Eddy Leppens they have two heavyweights. I want to play more matches next season, so I'm looking for a new team.''
Michael Nilsson won an important match for A1
Gokhan Salman: a win and a run of 11
Peter Ceulemans beat de Bruijn and played 3.076