TILBURG - Dutch billiards in three cushion is starting up a great new stronghold from next season. The Tilburg club Cues&Darts has announced ambitious plans with new, strong teams, new, especially young talents and the world top women's player Therese Klompenhouwer. The three teams will play in the three highest divisions. The Brabant stronghold more or less follows in the footsteps of SIS Schoonmaak, current and multiple champion in the Netherlands, whose sponsor Carl Verhoeven is retiring after this year.
The new billiards enclave has enshrined some four top foreign players, as well as Dutch women's world champion Therese Klompenhouwer, Glenn Hofman, who is among the top national players and has finished on the podium in the last two World Cups. Huub Wilkowski is a spokesman and also a player in the first team. The foreigners are Robinson Morales, Ruben Legazpi, Pierre Soumagne and Jef Philipoom
The Cues&Darts/Extreme stronghold will also be a veritable training circuit for junior billiards. The world's top junior player, Turk Burak Hashas, will have an important role. Also all young Dutch billiard players will play at Cues&Darts. Joey de Kok and Joris van 't Zelfden are the new players who have been contracted. 12-year-young Joeri Wilkowski and Luca Philipoom (16) are allowed to develop further in the teams in the first (Luca) and second division (Joeri).
Therese Klompenhouwer and Joey de Kok come over from the J&F Auto's team, which is trying to maintain its position in the premier league in this season. Team leader Monique Wilkowski fromthe first team for next season has already hinted at the teams' line-ups. The new project was conceived by Monique and Huub Wilkowski, Dennis Mast of Cues&Darts with billiard locations in Tilburg and Kaatsheuvel, sponsor Extreme and Martin de Laat, among others.
’’Most of all it is a future-oriented plan, in which there are plenty of possibilities for training. The plan has also been set up together with the national coaches. Basically, we will play in the first team with Glenn Hofman and Jef Philipoom, both 17 matches, Joey de Kok, Therese Klompenhouwer and Huub Wilkowski and with Ruben Legazpi, Robinson Morales, Pierre Soumagne and Burak Hashas, with whom we will rotate and try to reach the play-offs in the premier league.'' For the lower playing teams, Jack van Peer, Joris van 't Zelfden and Wim van Cromvoirt are available.
Therese Klompenhouwer, who will play more in Germany apart from for her new Dutch team, explained her transfer with: ’’This is a great opportunity for me to be part of a team playing to make the play-offs.''
Cues&Darts/Extreme, which is in fourth place in the Kozoom league, also wants to reach the play-offs with the current team. If that goal is achieved, the Tilburgers will play the play-offs with Ruben Legazpi, Glenn Hofman, Pierre Soumagne and Huub Wilkowski.
Huub Wilkowski makes clear: ’’With the team that envisaged this project, we often sat together in recent weeks. The future and continuity of the club were most important. With this plan we are now definitively coming out. We are very proud of it and have great confidence that this is unique for the Netherlands and that we are on our way to big successes.''
Monique Wilkowski adds: ’’I am honoured to be team captain in the premier league and first division. I am happy to make a step back as a player myself to make room for the youth. The youth is growing tremendously. Jef Philipoom is very proud to be playing in the same club as his son Luca, like we are with our son Joeri. This will become a wonderful project for the future of Dutch billiards.''