3-Cushion
OOSTERHOUT/DEN HAAG - Team Eekhoorn could be very content with their Saturday afternoon, after an unexpected and heroic 6-2 win over HCR Prinsen. Jerry Hermans was the one who took his team over the line, but earlier in the day, Kurt Ceulemans had made himself man of the match when he successfully replaced Frans van Kuyk and defeated Dick Jaspers in a one-man show: 40-16 in 14 innings. ,,I have the utmost respect for all these top players, but defeating one of them could not have come at a better time'', said stuntman Ceulemans, worth his weight in gold for his team, despite his hectic weeks in preparation for the World Cup in Blankenberge.
As by miracle, the top of the table in the Buffalo League remains unchanged after this penultimate round. SIS Schoonmaak, the leader, lost their home game against L&B Ledermode 6-2, but Team Eekhoorn's performance against HCR Prinsen means they hold on to their one point lead with one round to play. Even though SIS lost, it looks like they will end as number one, because their last match is against the red lantern MCR, which should be a formality. In that scenario, HCR Prinsen will have to take on the number three after the regular rounds, for a place in the play-off final.
Who will end as third? After round 21, that is still an open question. Team Eekhoorn did themselves a tremendous favor and are now favorite to end third. The men from Oosterhout will play Danny Molier's DPC tomorrow. ,,We are not even sure if that match will be played, because word on the street is that the room will be closed and put on the market today'', said Kurt Ceulemans in the aftermath of the match. ,,We'll see, we're promised that Molier's place would stay open for the league season. If we find the door closed tomorrow, it will be a default 8-0 win for us and we will end third. We wouldn't lose sleep over that. Team Eekhoorn is a magnificent team, you don't come across those every day at this level. Everywhere you hear: we don't know if so-and-so can make the trip to play that match, we have no idea what our line-up will be next round, things like that. With us, there is none of that. We play in the best line-up we have, in a team of friends. Today Frans (van Kuyk) was unavailable, but with Jack Wijnen as substitute we are also strong.''
Early to bed this evening, in preparation of Sunday's crucial match, Kurt? ,,I don't think so'', says a good-natured Kurt Ceulemans. ,,We have a barbecue planned, to celebrate our last home game of the season. That probably means i twill be late and we'll get drunk. We'll stumble out as friends this evening, but we'll be ready again tomorrow.''
The number of teams that still have a chance at third place has been reduced to two. Team Eekhoorn has the best chance, L&B Ledermode is just one match point behind but it has more game points. The guys from Hoeven will take on Bousema Lochem on the final day. L& B did well to win in The Hague today. In the first session John Tijssens lost to Jeffrey Jorissen (40-35 in 23), but Dave Christiani levelled matters when he beat Jean van Erp 40-20 in 23. The decision had to come after the break, and Eddy Merckx and Adnan Yüksel got out of the blocks far better than Glenn Hofman and Raimond Burgman. Merckx was never in trouble and he beat Hofman 40-20 in 20, Yüksel had to suffer through a late comeback by Burgman, but he also won: 40-34 in 20.
HCR Prinsen meanwhile, found the Oosterhout campsite to be a torture chamber. It was 2-2 at halftime there as well, after Kenny Miatton had beaten Jelle Pijl (40-22 in 22) and Eddy Leppens had gotten past Jack Wijnen (40-21 in 22). The grandiose win over Dick Jaspers by Kurt Ceulemans (runs of 9 and 8) paved the way for Eekhoorn sensational victory. Kurt later said: ,,I was ahead 31-16 and managed to run an 8 at that time. Dick had no reply. To tell you the truth, I did not think he played all that well.''
All eyes were on the Swertz - Hermans match from that moment on, and it was a laborious affair with lots of defense and awkward positions. Hermans made the difference in the final stages and won 40-34 in 47 innings. Tomorrow Frans van Kuyk will return to lead his Eekhoorn foursome.
The other teams that were in pursuit of third place had to concede today. STZ Zundert and Dallinga.com played a draw, after Caudron and Groot had won, and the other two matches ended in a draw. Peter Ceulemans equalized with three against Jean Paul de Bruijn (40-40 in 27) and Barry van Beers against Steven van Acker ended 40-40 in 35. DPC could not get past Bousema Lochem (4-4) despite an excellent showing from Birol Uymaz, who beat Murat Naci Coklu 40-37 in 18.
A1 Biljarts lost at home against 't Hartje/Van Wanrooy, De Veemarkt managed to beat MCR 6-2, but could not avoid relegation.
The table with one round still to play:
1 SIS Schoonmaak 33 punten
2 HCR Prinsen 32
3 Team Eekhoorn 25
4 L&B Ledermode 24
5 DPC 22
6 Dallinga.com 22
7 STZ Zundert 21
8 A1 Biljarts 20
9 Bousema Lochem 18
10 't Hartje/Van Wanrooy 18
11 De Veemarkt 14
12 MCR 3.
Sunday's matches:
HCR Prinsen-Zundert
Hartje/Van Wanrooy-De Veemarkt
MCR-SIS Schoonmaak
L&B Ledermode-Bousema Lochem
DPC-Team Eekhoorn
Dallinga.com-A1 Biljarts.