Dutch title holders outplayed by strong Turks

BRANDENBURG - There was no Dutch trilogy for Dick Jaspers and Raimond Burgman. Instead, there was a first title for Tayfun Tasdemir and Can Capak. The Netherlands, title holder in the European championship for national teams, was outplayed in the final by the superior duo from Turkey. The Stahlpalast in Brandenburg watched how the Turks made a spectacular comeback in their semifinal, and were never in trouble in the final.  For Tasdemir, it was his second European title, for Capak his first major international success. ,,I'm so proud for our team and for Turkey.'' The result of the final match (40-19 in 14 innings) reflected how one-sided the confrontation had been. Dick Jaspers showed his admiration: ,,We never had a chance to stop these strong Turks.'' Raimond Burgman: ,,We were defeated by a fantastic opponent. Therefore, we are not disappointed. We were chasing a hat-trick, but after two gold medals, the silver is also a nice reward.'' The podium was completed by Greece and Denmark. The miraculous comeback Tayfun Tasdemir and Can Capak realized in the semi-final against Greece was the talk of the town. An almost hopeless 30-9 in 15 innings was on the score board, and the Turks were as good as out. Tasdemir: ,,We were completely knocked down in the first part and couldn't match at all with the opponent.'' But the pep-talk between the two Turks during the break worked wonders. Suddenly, there was a reborn team at the table in the second half, with a remarkably strong Tasdemir and a brilliant Capak. The score was first reduced to 30-20, after a rebound of nine, then to 32-29, and the Turks took their first lead in the 20th
inning (35-33). The turnaround in the game was amazing: the Greeks that had started so strong were now flatfooted. Where the Turks finished 9-4-5-2-4-1, Nikos Polychronopoulos and Kostas Kokkoris had a dry spell of 0-1-1-1-0-0-0, good for a final score 40-33 in 22 innings. ,,That's the magic of billiards, the difference between scoring well and scoring poorly'', Polychronopoulos commented. ,,Before the break, it all went well for us, after halftime it was the other way around. We can't blame ourselves, we played a very strong tournament.'' The resurgence in the Turkish/Greek encounter inspired the later champions to a magnificent final. Tasdemir: ,,We knew that we had to play on our best to beat the double European champion. The team play was so wonderful and thanks to that decisive 13-run, we deserved the championship. We played a stunning final round with almost two average.'' Semi-finals: Netherlands-Denmark 40-23 in 24
The smooth start of the Dutch, with a lead of 25-1 in six innings, was decisive for the match. There was a 21-7 as well, including two lucky shots by Dick Jaspers. And whatever the Danes tried to do, they couldn't find their rhythm. Lars Dunch was the best of the two, Allan Schröder was a bit unlucky and not at his best. The Danes were amiable losers and finished in style, the Dutch were never in danger. Turkey-Greece 40-33 in 22 The Turks made a sensational comeback out of the blue. The start of the match was dominated by the Greeks, who made a fresh and powerful impression with Nikos Polychronopoulos and Kostas Kokkoris. They took a comfortable lead: 30-9 in 15 innings. Tayfun Tasdemir: ,,We played a bit unlucky and couldn't get a grip on the game.'' The match turned upside down after the break. The big lead was first reduced by a run of 9, followed by 4 and 2. From then on, only the Turks were in command. They turned the score into their favor in the 20th inning (35-33), two innings later, Tasdemir made the winning point: 40-33. The final ranking (average, highest runs): 1 Turkey 1.869-13
2 Netherlands A 1.467-10
3 Greece 1.666-9
3 Denmark 1.100-8
5 Belgium A 1.328-10
6 France 1.462-9
7 Netherlands B 1.084-8
8 Turkey B 1.205-6
9 Belgium B 1.254-7
10 Germany A 1.072-7
11 Austria 1.062-12
12 Finland 1.052-5. The ranking of this European championship determines the tickets for the World championship for national teams next year in Viersen, where for the first time only 16 teams will take part.

 

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