LOCHEM/SLUISKIL – The foreign stars in the Dutch premier league were overwhelmed by the home players. Dave Christiani and Martien van der Spoel played matches to 40 in 15 innings (2.666 average), Glenn Hofman outclassed Jean Paul de Bruijn 40-18 in 17 innings (2.352) and Sam van Etten made 40 in 18. What a wonderful day for Dutch billiards. The foreign player who also shone was Ruben Legazpi with 40 in 17. The standings in the top division remained unchanged on the day when Aartsbouw, the league leader, had a bye and remained on top. Bousema came within one match point with a 5-3 victory over RCN Nieuwegein. Dutch champion Cues&Darts won the away match against Dallinga 2-6. The Zeeland billiards stronghold, one of the most wonderful venues and certainly the most crowded in the premier league, was packed with nearly 100 billiards fans on Sunday afternoon to see Glenn Hofman, the new Dutch world star, and Therese Klompenhouwer, the multiple world champion, shine. Glenn Hofman lived up to his reputation as the leading player. The Hague native started against Jean Paul de Bruijn with two 9’s (18-2 in two innings) and nearly finished with a 9 in the 15th inning. He missed the match point twice more, but the score remained unconditional at 40-18, guaranteeing the Cues&Dart’s victory.
A juicy story circulated during that match that Glenn Hofman, the afternoon's standout player, once played for Sluiskil as a young player. The current manager, Berry Dallinga, said: "Glenn had to leave for a star team with Jaspers, Caudron, Merckx, and De Bruijn." That dream team was promised a lot of money by an unreliable Belgian, who never kept his promises. "It was the biggest mistake we made here."
For Zeeland, Joey de Kok won the match against Berry Dallinga this Sunday 40-31 in 39 before the break, while Ruben Legazpi was a sovereign winner against Peter De Backer 40-17 in 17. The only Sluiskil success, according to statistics, came from Steven van Acker, who scored well himself and presented the world champion Therese with many difficult shots, winning 40-23 in 28.
Dave Christiani excelled for RCN Nieuwegein against Tayfun Tasdemir, a world-class player who was defeated with an average of two (40-32) in 15 innings. Gerwin Valentijn drew against Jeffrey Jorissen, but Stefan Galla and Frans van Schaik secured full victory for Bousema: 5-3. Jorissen shared in the celebrations by equalizing with a 3-point score against Valentijn.
Martien van der Spoel was another standout performer that day, winning against Richard Dekker: 40-12 in 15 innings, highest run of 9. SIS won all its matches against Harwig, which just can't seem to escape last place. Burgmans Biljarts did manage to secure one point against Van Baal, where Sam van Etten was the better man against Bart Ceulemans (40-17 in 18 innings). Roland Forthomme was the other winner for Van Baal against Tom Löwe.
Paperclip climbed to the bottom of the middle with a 6-2 victory over Team Eekhoorn. Peter Ceulemans was the only winner for Eekhoorn, winning 40-38 against Anno de Kleine. Dick Jaspers and Nick Polychronopoulos put up a great fight, ending 40-39 for Jaspers in 26 innings after a final run of four by Jaspers, which meant Team Eekhoorn's defeat. Melnytschenko and Breur were match-winners against Van Kuyk and Hermans.
Glenn Hofman was a standout for his team in Sluiskil
Ruben Legazpi, great match for his team