ANDERNOS/COURBEVOIE - In the two matches played in Group B on the 5th day of the French team competition, Andernos faced Courbevoie and won 6-2. Morangis was surprisingly beaten by Colmar. The Paris team of Belgians Eddy Merckx and Eddy Leppens had only one winner: Jean Reverchon defeated Jérôme Riotto. In the Courbevoie team, Colombian Marino Echeverry came up with a stunt: he was the better of Nikos Polychronopoulos, 40-35 in 22 innings. The South American also played a draw in the previous round against Eddy Merckx.
Andernos showed the best team average of the fifth matchday in the away match against Courbevoie: 1.581.
The Colombian Marino Echeverry was the big surprise in this match. In the game where he face world player Nikos Polychronopoulos, Echeverry was on a margin of 10 points halfway. The Greek came back running 6 and 9, but his opponent was already close to the finish at 38-30 in 15 innings. He finished in the 22th inning 40-34. Marino Echeverry's extraordinary performance, after his draw against Merckx, will certainly go around the billiards world: the Colombian played 1.818 of average against Polychronopoulos 1.591. He's living in France for three years now and playing for Courbevoie since two years. Before he left Colombia, he won a tournament in his country. ,,My dream was to live in France'', he told his teammate Maxime Panaia.
Jérôme Barbeillon defeated Hervé Delforge 40-30 in 30. Roland Forthomme and Frédéric Mottet decided the match in favour of Andernos. Forthomme was a way too strong for Maxime Panaia (40-12 in 30), Mottet won his match against David Gallais, the club's chairman, 40-15.
Morangis and Colmar were 2-2 at the break, as Can Capak decided the match against Roux in the final phase: 40-37 in 32. Murat Naci Coklu had a head start and led against Eddy Merckx 20-11 in 11 and 29-12 in 14 after three 5-runs. The Turkish frontrunner decided the game at 40-30 in 22. Dion Nelin dominated the match against Eddy Leppens all the way. The Dane quickly went into the attack with a run of 9, ran out to 28-8 in 14 and finally won 40-25 in 21. Morangis had a team total of 1.290, Colmar 1.200.
The last day is decisive for the ranking in this group. Then, Andernos plays against Morangis on April 5 and Colmar against Courbevoie. In the ranking, Andernos is at 8 points, Morangis and Colmar at 6.