3-Cushion
PELOPONNESOS - Vamos, vamos... Ruben. The Spaniard Ruben Legazpi, hero of the day, walked out of the arena after the sensational victory over Marco Zanetti and was cheered by Dani Sánchez and Javier Palazón. The audience applauded minutes for the rarely seen, blistering showdown of the match. Marco Zanetti, still in great form, seemed assured of victory when he left his opponent down with 40-32 after 18 innings.
The Italian was not quite sure of course, because Legazpi, who made a strong comeback after the break, still had a tiny little chance in the equalizer in which he had to score eight times. That rarely happens in three cushion, but now…, with a few exciting matches just done, there was a kind of magic in the air. The audience in the full stands felt it.
,,I knew that it was my only chance to play pure position’’, said 1.90 tall Legazpi later. And the tactic worked: the breakshot, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8..., a thunderous applause and concentration for the penalty shots.
Marco Zanetti started with four, a nice run for sure under these conditions. Ruben Legazpi: ,,I started with a trembling hand, I was tensed up by nerves, but luckily, the positions rolled not too bad.’’ After four points, with one more to go for the winning carom, he could hardly make the stroke, the speed of the cue ball was not perfect and he missed.
He missed? Or didn’t he? As a sudden relief from above, the cue ball got a kiss and Legazpi was rewarded unexpectedly.
,,The best kiss of my life,'' replied the Spaniard later overjoyed.
Marco Zanetti will undoubtedly have remembered another amazing moment this year, when he first made a rarely nice comeback in the Masters Agipi against Dick Jaspers and then closed the match with a lucky shot.
Filippos Kasidokostas advanced to the quarters by penalty shots as well after 40-40 against Choong-Bok Lee and 3 to 1 from the spots.
Tayfun Tasdemir defeated his compatriot Savas Bulut, one of the revelations in this tournament. Torbjörn Blomdahl and Jae Guen Kim were the high fliers with absolute world matches. Dong Koong Kang, the winner of the last World Cup, qualified again in the last eight.
The matches for the quarter finals (18.00):
Torbjörn Blomdahl - Quiet Tran Chien
Filippos Kasidokostas-Jae Guen Kim
Ruben Legazpi-Dong Koong Kang
Sung-Won Choi-Tayfun Tasdemir.