Jeffrey Jorissen: a crazy day in The Hague

THE HAGUE - The billiardfans of the SIS Schoonmaak team from the Hague, the leader in the three-cushion league, have been talking already for weeks about the upcoming top match. The home team, playing in Cafe Jorissen, is preparing for the undisputed clash against HCR Prinsen in the Buffalo League. The number one meets the number two this Sunday afternoon (starting 13.00) in The Hague and there is only a one-point-gap. The Hague team will jump to a three points advantage, or are taken over by Dinand Prinsen's Haarlo team. Could it be more fascinating in the battle for the top position in the main Dutch league?

,,It's gonna be a crazy day in The Hague for this top match'', predicts Jeffrey Jorissen, child of the billiard café and regular player in the line-up of the team that is chasing for the league title. ,,I expect about 125 or maybe even 150 people to watch the match. We're going to build extra stands, because we have our own Hague fans and from Brabant a bus with some 40/50 Jean van Erp fans will travel to The Hague. They are all ready for it. I even heard that people from Zeeland will make the trip to our billiard home this Sunday.''

Kozoom will broadcast the match live like all the Hague home games, on the two billiards. Jeffrey Jorissen: ,,But even better is of course to be there live. It will be a real Hague party. We come up with walk-on girls and own music, bells and whistles are allowed to the audience to create a super ambiance. It will be a league match as it is rarely shown.''

Kozoom / Frits Bakker: What do you expect about the chances for your team after the unexpectedly lost match of last week, which reduced the lead to one point?
Jeffrey Jorissen: ,,We lost in Zundert against an opponent who was very strong at three positions, so that can happen. I now think the odds are fifty-fifty. It will not be easy to keep the two points in The Hague. The opponent, HCR Prinsen, comes with its strongest team, so with Dick Jaspers and Eddy Leppens as leaders and Anno de Kleine and Raymund Swertz as the numbers three and four. All very strong players.

Kozoom/FB: How is your form and from the other home players, what can we expect?
Jeffrey Jorissen: ,,Ah, what is form... The shape of the day will be important and I am sure that all eight players want to perform on their very best. So, I would like to say to everyone: don't miss this, it's gonna be a spectacle! And after the matches, there's the famous third half, with live music and a DJ. Yes, even after a possible loss.''

The Buffalo league is four rounds up to the end, with two teams far away from the rest and a fierce battle for the third place that gives right to the play-offs. One of the pursuers is out of chance, as it looks now. DPC, Danny Molier's team, announced this week's that the café will be closed and the team will disappear. The competition will be finished, but in a strongly weakened line-up. ,,We no longer have a chance to reach the play-offs'', said the team captain and hall keeper of 't Oogh of Vlaerding, who himself will play as fourth man in the last matches. The other three are Birol Uymaz, Martin Spoormans and Richard Bitalis.

The teams which will toss to the third play-off position are Team Eekhoorn, L&B Ledermode, Dallinga.com and STZ Zundert. Two of these teams face each other on Sunday. Team Eekhoorn is preparing for the match against Dallinga.com, an encounter that could be called a Netherlands-Belgium. Two Dutch and two Belgians compete in both teams for the win in this 19th round. Eekhoorn with Van Kuyk, Ceulemans, Miatton and Hermans, Dallinga with De Bruijn, Van Acker, the new man Saver (because Patrick Vasseur stopped) and Dallinga.

L & B Ledermode faces the away match against A1 Biljarts, that asked Javier Palazón to come over for the match against Eddy Merckx. De Veemarkt plays at home against DPC, 't Hartje van Wanrooy against MCR and Bousema Lochem against STZ Zundert.

Raymund Swertz, recent winner of the Dutch penthatlon, is facing Jeffrey Jorissen in the match between the numbers 1 and 2 ranked teams

The line-ups:

SIS Schoonmaak-HCR Prinsen
Hofman-Jaspers
Van Erp-Leppens
Burgman-De Kleine
Jorissen-Swertz

Team Eekhoorn-Dallinga.com
Van Kuyk-De Bruijn
Ceulemans-Van Acker
Miatton-Saver
Hermans-Dallinga

Bousema Lochem-STZ Zundert
Coklu-Forthomme
Horn-Ceulemans
S. Galla-B. van Beers
De Jaeger-Groot

De Veemarkt-DPC
Jäschke-Uymaz
Wilkowski-Spoormans
Grossjung-Bitalis
Dericks-Molier

A1 Biljarts-Ledermode
Palazón-Merckx
Rudolph-Christiani
Lindemann-Valentijn
Van der Spoel-Tijssens

't Hartje/Van Wanrooy-MCR
Bulut-Frings
Van Havere-Sciacca
Martens-Hoefnagels
Broeders-R. Loenen.

All matches start at 13.00 on Sunday