3-Cushion
PORTO - The master with the magic stroke is still unable to mount a shining comeback into the international 3-cushion circuit. In the Porto World Cup, where he received a wildcard last year but exited early, he unexpectedly got kicked out today (wednesday) after he had made a promising start against his countryman Birol Uymaz. Spaniard Juan David Zapata, who had lost to Uymaz 30-11 in 13 innings, sealed Semih's fate. Sayginer took the lead with an early run of nine (15-9 in 5), still lead 21-15 but was beaten in the home stretch: 30-28 to Zapata.
That result gave Uymaz first place in the flight. Disappointment was thick on his face, after he missed out on the qualifying round by two caroms, when he had played a point slightly too thick in ther equalizing inning. It hurt.Again, the Turkish magician must wait until he can start a climb on the world ranking list and realize his renewed ambitions.
The result had been predicted by Uymaz, who became the "third party" in this group. He had lost to Sayginer, but knew that he still had a chance after his great performance (13 innings) against Zapata.,,I am not out of it yet'', said Uymaz with a smile, on his way to the hotel. ,,Zapata is dangerous, he is carefree now and can put the pressure on Semih.'' That was exactly what happened in the most crucial and best watched match of the day.
Spaniard Carlos Crespo turned an almost lost match against Tolgahan Kiraz around with a run of eleven, to win 30-29 in 17. He had won his first match against Hamed Mohssen 30-3 in 14, which made him the best winner of the day with 4 match points and 1.935. Also on this day, seventeen year old Myung Woo Cho got eliminated and Dutchman Raymon Groot survived. Twelve of the sixteen players ended up with two victories. Austrian Arnim Kahofer, in the last session of the day, sent Myung Woo Cho home (30-22 in 23).
Can Capak started off with a draw against Ilhan Ürküt, then beat Kostas Papakonstantinou in sixteen innings. Ilhan Ürküt needed two more innings and ended on top of the loser list. Raymon Groot beat both Korean Jin Pyo Hong (30-19 in 21) and seasoned Japanese Tatsuo Arai (30-27 in 31). Doing so, he has already made this tournament a success for himself. Tomorrow (Thursday) he will try for a place in the main draw.
His Pressplate teammate Peter Ceulemans from Belgium went through the eye of a needle when he played David Martinez. Ceulemans, a semifinalist in Porto last year, lost his first match to Ra Hee Kim 30-26 in 17 innings, and he needed a win against Martinez in no more than 26 innings. The Belgian made his 30 points in 23 innings, and Martinez missed out on the next round when he missed on 29.
Dinh Nai Ngo had no trouble seeing off Henk Blauwblomme (30-9 in 19) in the final match in flight F. Alfonso Legazpi was the last man standing in a flight with Khaled Salem and Ahmet Bayatli, and Durk Hee Hwang was the best of three Koreans, allbeit with just 1.176 average. Jae Guen Kim had a dramatic start in his last match against Jose Antonio Carrasco, but he could correct it in the end: 30-28 in 30.
Esteve Mata was strong on the opening days, but could not win today's flight: Savas Bulut beat him 30-29 in 22. Ahmet Alp and Vinh Ly The proceed, the Vietnamese robbing Korean Ji Hun Ahn of all his hopes. Jef Philipoom won his flight with a 1.090 average, ahead of Jean Reverchon with 1.000.
Gokhan Salman performed well in his flight, where he started off with a draw against Emrullah Basegmez. The Turks then had to deal with Portugese Pedro Brandao. Basegmez won in 22 innings. Salman, helped by a run of eleven, did it in sixteen.
Trung Hau Do Nguyen from Vietnam won his flight with Tae Soo Lim and Vasco Gomes, scoring a modest 0.909. Birol Uymaz, Semih Sayginer and Juan David Zapata all ended on two match points: Uymaz with a 1.709 average, Sayginer with 1.611 and Zapata with 1.322.
Sayginer was only the number four on the loser list, headed by Ilhan Ürküt ahead of Emrullah Basegmez, then Kwang Yeol Park. Myung Woo Cho was fifth, just behind Sayginer.
The winners: 1 Carlos Crespo 4-1.935-11
2 Ahmet Alp 4-1.395-12
3 Dinh Nai Ngo 4-1.363-6
4 Savas Bulut 4-1.333-7
5 Raymon Groot 4-1.304-9
6 Vinh Ly The 4-1.250-6
7 Jae Guen Kim 4-1.176-7
8 Durk Hee Hwang 4-1.176-5
9 Arnim Kahofer 4-1.132-5
10 Jef Philipoom 4-1.090-6
11 Alfonso Legazpi 4-1.052-5
12 Trung Hau Do Nguyen 4-0.909-6
13 Can Capak 3-1.666-11
14 Gokhan Salman 3-1.500-11
15 Birol Uymaz 2-1.709-9
16 Peter Ceulemans 2-1.400-9.
Gokhan Salman
Savas Bulut and Raymon Groot will get the show started tomorrow at 09.00 (Portugese time), in the final qualification round. Also in their flight: Nikos Polychronopoulos.
Other interesting flights:
Eddy Leppens, Peter Ceulemans and Riad Nadi.
Gokhan Salman, Lütfi Cenet, Filippos Kasidokostas
Javier Palazón, Alfonso Legazpi, Jérémy Bury
Ruben Legazpi, Can Capak, Jung-Han Heo Anh
Vu Duong, Jef Philipoom, Murat Naci Coklu.
Raymon Groot who defeated Tatsuo Arai