Missteps for Belgian leader: double loss

HERSTAL - The four leaders in the Belgian team competition continue to fire each other by heavy shooting. The position in the lead is constantly changing, like in this week's divided 17th and 18th rounds of play, when Herstalien lost its way for a while. BC Op de Meir was a bridge too far for Roland Forthomme's leading team this Friday evening: with excellent roles for Barry van Beers and Wesley de Jaeger (run 18), Op de Meir won comfortably 1-7 at the dethroned frontrunner. Roland Forthomme lost his match on 1 point against Jef Philipoom.  Herstalien also lost its previous match against T's Place 5-3. The match with Op de Meir was played ahead because of the World Cup in Bogóta.

Barry van Beers was more or less declared best man of the week in Op de Meir's team. Not only did the Dutchman win in the match against Herstalien vs Pierre Soumagne 40-15 in 21, a few days earlier Van Beers also beat Dustin Jäschke by clear figures: 40-13 in 19 innings. Wesley de Jaeger shone for Op de Meir with a run of 18 against Thomas Broux.

BC Op de Meir now leads the standings with 28 points out of 18 matches. Biljart Express and Mister 100 still have a match to go and can equalize in match points. Biljart Express travels to De Ploeg on Monday and Mister 100 does not play its next match until 4 March against T's Place.

Mister 100 had more or less a walk-over against Kortrijk 2 this week with an 8-0 score. The match featured mediocre matches with Peter Ceulemans the only standout: a win against Frédéric Roalants in 28 innings. Kurt Ceulemans, Jerry Hermans and Bart Ceulemans needed 35, 36 and 40 innings for the win.

Biljart Express beat Brugse 5-3 with the best match on centercourt, where Eddy Merckx had a better final sprint than Steven van Acker: 40-37 in 22 innings. Gerwin Valentijn defeated Bart Leys. Martin Spoormans and Koen Saver played a draw in 34 innings, Henk Blauwblomme won for Bruges team against Frans van Kuyk 40-33 in 33. De Witte Molen did good business with a win over Kortrijkse (6-2), De Leug won against TBA 6-2 in a match in which Jeffrey Jorissen tanked confidence for his trip to the World Cup in Bogóta. The Dutchman beat Dirk Weeremans 40-15 in 25 innings.

Wesley de Jaeger: excellent 18-run