3-Cushion
There was a sensation hanging in the air when Jef Philipoom won the first set against Eddy Merckx in the match between BC Elversberg and Clichy Montmartre this afternoon. In the second set both Belgian players were in balance until the end, but eventually Merckx won that set 15-14 and he grabbed the third too. Clichy therefore won the match easily with an 8-0 score.
The first session of the European Cup ended without many surprises. The two German teams, BF Horster Eck and BC Elversberg need a small miracle to penetrate the semi-finals. Jef Philipoom was the very best man for Elversberg, Klaus Bösel won one set against Richard Bitalis, but at the end the team had no chance against Clichy.
BC Elversberg will meet Caseta Nova tomorrow, the match between Jef Philipoom and Tayfun Tasdemir will be the highlight. It will be the first perfromarnce of Caseta Nova, the Spanish champion and regarded as one of the favorites for the semi-final.
Jef Philipoom played a match at a high level against Eddyh Merckx this afternoon. The two former teammates in the Belgian league for BC Deurne stayed for a long time in balance. Eddy Merckx ended with the win (3-2) and 1.881 average, against Jef Philipoom 1.771.
Philipoom was the best starter with a run of eight in the first set and a 15-10 win in seven innings. Merckx repared the balance, but escaped with a 15-14 win in the second set. The Belgian champion then won the deciding set 15-10 in six innings with a run of eight.
Michael Nilsson had a flying start too with a run of nine in his first set. He won the set 15-13 in nine innings and the second 15-8 in eight. Richard Bitalis needed one set to get used to the billiards in the Agipi arena (15-7 loss against Klaus Bösel), but recovered with two winning sets 15-13 and 15-10 in nine and eleven innings.
Jean Reverchon defeated Volker Marx 15-4 (8) and 15-14 (16).
The team average of Clichy was very hopeful: Merckx 1.818, Nilsson 1.667, Bitalis 1.519, Reverchon 1.250.