SPRUNDEL – Three Belgians and one Brabant native player paved their way to the top spot in the Dutch three-cushion premier league on Sunday. The Aartsbouw/Domicili team emerged as the new favorites after defeating Cues&Darts, the reigning champions, 7-1. Their rivals lost valuable points, meaning Aartsbouw leads the standings now with 14 points out of 8 matches. Bousema and Team Eekhoorn are chasing each with 11 points and one match more to go. The best player this 8th day was Dick Jaspers, winner of the Grand Prix on Saturday evening. In the league match with Paperclip, Jaspers had no trouble with Bart Ceulemans, whom he defeated 40-9 in a brilliant 11-inning match. The match offered a glimpse of world-class player Dick Jaspers. Paperclip won the match 2-6.
For now, the spotlight is on Aartsbouw, the Brabant team led by Eddy Merckx and featuring Barry van Beers, Wesley de Jaeger, and Ronny Brants as regular starters. Turkish star Turgay Orak is also a welcome substitute, having played in three matches so far.
Aartsbouw, playing in the wonderful billiards café De Drie Zwaantjes in Sprundel with 7 match tables and three smal tables, took the top spot in the premier league with 7 wins and 1 loss against Team Eekhoorn, 7-1, in which only Merckx drew against Polychronopoulos.
The history of De Drie Zwaantjes, the billiards café, goes back a long way. Janny Vergouwen is the current owner, who took over the café from her father, Jan. The top-ranked team had several ups and downs, and after the arrival of Eddy Merckx and Barry van Beers, became a team with playoff ambitions. So far, those expectations come closer.
This Sunday, around 75 spectators watched the match between the top two teams in the Kozoom League. Wesley de Jaeger defeated Jef Philipoom 40-25 in 22 before the break, while Ronny Brants beat Huub Wilkowski 40-33 in 38. The 4-0 scoreline boosted the fans' spirits. Aartsbouw needed one more match point to secure victory. The decisive match came in the match between Barry van Beers and Ruben Legazpi, which the Brabant native won 40-36 in 28 innings. At the end of the afternoon, Eddy Merckx finished first against Glenn Hofman, and the Hague native equalized with a score of 3: 40-40 in 28. The final score: 7-1, 1.379 average for Aartsbouw, 1.159 for Cues&Darts.
Team Eekhoorn, one of the chasing teams, made a slight misstep at home against SIS/Vervoort, who managed a draw at the campsite thanks in part to Jean van Erp. The match on center court was the best of the afternoon: Jean van Erp defeated Nick Polychronopoulos 40-21 in 15 innings. Harrie van de Ven was the other winner for SIS against Kurt Ceulemans 40-21 in 29 innings. For Eekhoorn, Peter Ceulemans defeated Raimond Burgman in 24 and Frans van Kuyk bested Raymund Swertz in 33 innings.
Bousema maintained its position in the sub-top with a 7-1 victory over Dallinga, with Martin Horn excelling in the final stages against Jean Paul de Bruijn. The German leader finished with 10, the last caroms of which were miraculously played out of the kiss: 40-28 in 19. Jeffrey Jorissen won against Peter De Backer 40-36, Frans van Schaik against Berry Dallinga 40-32 and Johan Loncelle drew against Steven van Acker in a high-quality match: 40-40 in 20.