Jef Philipoom shines on Viersens opening day

VIERSEN - The comeback of Jef Philipoom at the WC for National teams in Viersen was the highlight of the opening day. The 51-year old belgian, playing with his countryman Eddy Leppens as belgium B, started the tournament in the Festhalle with a victory over Italy's Fabrizio Cortese: 40 -12 in 13 innings (3.076 average). The score stayed even, because on the other table, Marco Zanetti beat Eddy Leppens 40-34 in 25..

The first surprise of the day was the loss of Sweden, against Turkey B.  Torbjörn Blomdahl was beaten by Can Capak (40-37 in 27), Nalle Olsson by Hakan Incekara (40-22 in 31). The Austrian tean with Arnim Kafhofer and Andres Efler gave the german B-team (Christian Rudolph and Dustin Jäschke) a cold shower.

Nikos Polychronopoulos and Jérémy Bury provided the spectators with the best match of the day, when Greece met France. A devastating opening by  Polychronopoulos (a run of 17 in the second inning) hit the French fans hard. Five inningsl later, Bury mounted a gallant comeback with a run of 11, and in the final stages of the match he even had chances to win from 39-38. But it was Polychronopoulos who crossed the line, and the Greeks won because Kostas Kokkoris, his country's number 1, beat Jérôme Barbeillon 40-37 in 25.

Jef Philipoom looked ahead in the tournament, after his fine win.,,We shouldn't lean back now, there's still Denmark to be played.'' But if we do qualify, said Philipoom, we will try to do what we came here for. ,,The Belgian A-team will be our next opponent, and I can see us create an upset: we are basically here to kick Belgium A out of the tournament.''

Jef Philipoom, who works alternating day- andd nightshifts in a casino, and is the World- and European champion of 1995, can still play with the big boys and is not afraid to stand up to them. He is back on the international stage as the number 3 of the Belgian Nationals of last year. ,,I have not played any World Cups for years now, because it has become too expensive. And because the qualification matches (30 pts) are too short. I am not going to travel to Korea to play five innings and then fly home.''

His heart is in the league play these days: Belgium, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands. ,,I am a real team player, and that is what I want to prove here too. In Belgium, I am having a really strong season, with about 1.600 average and only two matches lost after fifteen rounds.''

He has played at the WC in Viersen five teams, but never made the podium. ,,We were close once, when we played Turkey in the quarters. Francis Forton had lost 3-2, and I had a matchball to beat Adnan Yüksel 3-1. I also played with Eddy once, he played well and I was horrible. And I matched up with Caudron once, we lost because Stefan Galla played a monster of a match for Germany B.''

Philipoom is still searching for a team in Holland for next season, because his adventure at De Distel has run its course. ,,We are not too sad about that, because in terms of atmosphere, this was not a great year.'' Philipoom expects to end up in the second highest division. ,,Where we can work on winning the title and promotion.''

In spite of his long hours, day and night, he still gets enough billiard practice to play the leagues and teach. ,,A team from the Netherlands will show up, and then I will again have a total of some 75 league matches to play next season.''

Nobody needs to teach Jef Philipoom how to combine work, a family and billiards. And World Cups? ,,You never know. But then, the prize money needs to go up, or I must find a sponsor.''

Turkish player Can Capak won his match against Torbjörn Blomdahl: his team defeated Sweden

Andreas Efler took his chance with Austria and defeated Germany B

UMB president Farouk Barki from Egypt welcomes players, officials and audience for the World championship for national teams