DEN HAAG/HAARLO/MAARSSEN - It was Jelle Pijl's equalizing inning in the derby between Prinsen and Bousema, on the seventh day of competition in the Buffalo league, that decided matters. He ran six in the first inning against Markus Galla, and allowe prinsen to continue their surge upwards with a 5-3 win. Eureka Billard won the top match between the nrs. 1 and 2 on the table, defeating Zundert 6-2. Dallinga kept climbing and now has a share of second place, after their 5-3 win over Buffalo.nl.
Eureka Billard thanked their victory over Zundert to wins by Dave Christiani over Peter Ceulemans (40-22 in 18), Raimond Burgman over Barry van Beers (40-36 in 27) and John Tijssens over Raymon Groot (40-32 in 28). Roland Forthomme recorded an "honor" win over Martin Horn, but it was inconsequential.
Nikos Polychronopoulos and Frédéric Caudron were the best winners of the round, both producing 40 in 16. The Greek did it in his match against Eddy Merckx, that ended 40-36. The lead player for TOVV/Royal Pro had a 34-20 lead after 12, Merckx hit back with a run of twelve, but he was beaten three innings later by Nikos' closing run of three.
Martin Spoormans was deservedly rewarded with a round of applause for his performance against Gerwin Valentijn. He put the star player from Brabant on the back foot in the first four innings, with 6-3-6-3. A run of nine a little later, and the win was no longer contested: 40-12 in 20 innings. Richard Bitalis also made a good impression when he played Henk Blauwblomme: 40-28 in 22.
Dick Jaspers and Anno de Kleine colored the day for Prinsen. Jaspers defeated Stefan Galla 40-32 in 25, Anno de Kleine also won 40-32 but he used two more innings to do it, against Therese Klompenhouwer. The last shot that was fired came from Jelle Pijl's weapon, and it gave Prinsen the fourth consecutive victory.
Frédéric Caudron had a much better start then Glenn Hofman, and at the finish line the margin was considerable: 40-17 in 16. Jean Paul de Bruijn was too strong for Jean van Erp, in a match he ended with a run of six: 40-24 in 19. Herman van Daalen was the only winner for The Hague, scoring 40-30 in 23 against Bart Ceulemans. Another draw from Steven van Acker (against Jeffrey Jorissen, in 35 innings) decided the match and gave Dallinga the 5-3.
The most remarkable match of the seventh round was played on Saturday evening. Rik van Beers, the younger brother of Barry van Beers, beat Kurt Ceulemans 40-4 in 19 innings. It was a brutal result, but Burgmans remained empty-handed in spite of it: Eekhoorn won 5-3. Kurt Ceulemans was relieved after his ordeal of a match: ,,That's what it's about: the team result. I am a team player, it makes no difference if I lose 40-39 or 40-0. If my three team mates can make up for it, that is.'' The important fifth game point was produced by Frans van Kuyk, when he equalized against Christian Rudolph in 25 innings.
TOVV 2 still firmly holds the red lantern, as it lost their away game against 't Hartje: 6-2. Davy van Havere was the best winner in 28 innings, Savas Bulut beat Kay de Zwart 40-39 in 30.