United Stars, the leaders of the National Pool League (NPL) after thirteen rounds of matches with a record of 12 wins and one loss, will host the second-placed South Side Crew, the only team to have beaten the Stars in the league thus far, in the Billiards Sports Organisation of T&T (BSOTT) programme this evening at the Boardroom Lounge in Debe.
Both teams boast a plethora of top players. United Stars are led by former national team captain Aaron Raghoonanan, arguably the best player in the country, alongside fellow former nationals Adrian Bajnath and Imran Ramjewan. Dilip Deo, Ravy Joseph, Nazim Mohammed, Wayne Rattansingh and the recently added Junior Boodram are also up for selection on the six-man team on the night.
South Side Crew also have three players with national experience in their ranks, team captain Ravi Goorah, Sham Jagerssar and Damien Bisnath.
Other players in the mix are Desmond Nicholls, veteran Alvin Daniel, Shaheed Kondiah, Shakar Beephan, Roopnanrine Latchman and Andrew Harrilal. ‘Crew’, with ten wins and three losses, will want to inch closer to the top and at the same time, maintain some distance between them and the chasing pack.
Central Stars and Playhouse Predators are close behind in third and fourth, respectively, with nine wins and four losses. That win/loss record will change this week as both teams meet on Wednesday evening at the Playhouse Sports Bar in Barataria. In their first-half league encounter, the Predators came out on top by a 4-1 margin but Central Stars are a much better team eleven weeks on.
Other matches on this week’s schedule will see Spar United host Pool Sharks BC at Spar Sports Bar in Reform Village, Kenny’s Sports Bar in Chaguanas will be home to two matches on Wednesday with Kenny’s hosting Spar Amigos on the inside table, while Check Side will do battle with Poolhulics Krew on the outside table.
Dekko Pub SC will round off the night’s matches with a home encounter against Jerry Junction at Dekko Pub in Princes Town.
All matches are scheduled to start at 8.15 pm.
In last week’s Round 13 results, United Stars defeated Poolhulics Crew 5-nil, South Side Crew took care of Spar Amigos 4-1, Spar United also had a 4-1 win over Kenny’s, Playhouse Predators won 3-2 over Pool Sharks BC to push the Sharks down to fifth in the standings, Central Stars downed Dekko 3-2 and Check Side shut out Jerry Junction 5-nil.
In more news, BSOTT is preparing for a series of ranking tournaments in September, which will serve as a precursor to the first National 9 Ball Championships in October.
