The Billiards Sports Organisation of T&T's (BSOTT) National Pool League (NPL) 8 Ball competition continues to deliver some interesting results. For the second week in a row, ‘D’ Underdawgs defied the odds to defeat one of the top teams in the Premier Division of the NPL.
On Wednesday, the sixth-place Underdawgs visited Kenny’s Sports Bar in Chaguanas to take on the second-placed Check Side and came away with a 4-1 win. This follows their 3-2 defeat of Golden Arches Titans in the previous round.
The visitors got off to a winning start when Ryan Ramroop won a hard-fought encounter 3-2 over veteran Alvin Daniel. The see-saw battle saw Ramroop win the first, third and fifth frames. Underdawgs’ captain Fidel Mohammed followed with a similar 1,3,5 victory over Damien Bisnath. The doubles game was next with Lyndon Ramkissoon and Andrew Maharaj taking on the home pair of Vasudeva ‘Bunny’ Siewsankar and Ravi Goorah.
The Bunny/Goorah combination took the first frame but that was their only success as they lost the next three, which effectively cost them the match. Alvin Dalipsingh made it four games in a row for the ‘Dawgs’ as he came back from a first frame loss to beat Jason Khan 3-1 and in the final game of the night, Roopnarine Latchman pulled a game back for the hosts and avoided a whitewash by beating Andre Durham three frames to two.
Despite the win, ‘D’ Underdawgs remain in sixth spot with five wins and seven losses, while Check Side move back down one spot into third.
Golden Arches Titans, after one week, are back up to second spot after demolishing Poolhulics Krew A 5-nil at Golden Arches II in Curepe. The Titans have a record of eight wins and four losses while Poolhulics A are seventh on the table with just three wins from twelve games.
Nubian Kings and Central Stars are fourth and fifth respectively, both with seven wins and five losses, the same as Check Side. The ‘Kings’ and the ‘Stars’ met at Mr. Billiards Place in Aranguez and the ‘Stars’ prevailed 3-2.
The table-topping United Stars, meanwhile, have now won eight matches in a row, their most recent, a 3-2 result over the cellar-placed Liquidatorz at Club Fete in Gasparillo. The Liquidatorz have just one win in twelve matches so far and have now lost ten on the trot.
NPL First Division News: In a match played on Thursday, Check Side 1 handed One Zee’s Shooting Stars only their second loss of the season. The Kenny’s based Check Side 1 hosted the table-toppers and defended their home turf with a clinical four games to one win. The first division ‘Stars’ were in the midst of a nine-game winning streak. Check Side 1 moves back into second on the standings with nine wins and three losses, the same as third placed Sicarios. Sicarios spent one day back in second after beating Sharpshooters BT 3-2 on Wednesday.
Another Thursday encounter saw Roxbury Sports Bar beat Dekko All Stars 5-0. With the win, Roxbury is fourth on the standings with eight wins and four losses. The Arima-based Sharpshooters are fifth after some mixed results over the past week.
In a rescheduled round 11 match on Monday, Sharpshooters swept to a 5-nil win over Triple Bee’s at Rambaran’s Bar in Arima but fell in their Wednesday fixture at Esco Bar. Sharpshooters now boast a record of seven wins and five losses, the same win/loss record as Crazy 8. Crazy 8, who are sixth on the table, were 4-1 winners over bottom of the table Jerry Junction on Tuesday.
Poolhulics Krew B, who occupy 11th spot, registered their second win in twelve matches when they beat seventh-placed Scotchie’s Deton8tors 4-1. The only outstanding round 12 match is between the tenth-placed Annihilators and eighth-placed Triple Bee’s. That match was scheduled for Sunday at Club Fete in Gasparillo.
Round 13 fixtures
Tuesday
First Division
Poolhulics Krew B vs The Annihilators, Mr. Billiards Place, Aranguez
Jerry Junction vs Roxbury Sports Bar, Jerry Junction, Carapichaima
One Zee's Shooting Stars vs Sicarios, Club Fete, Gasparillo
Scothchie's Deton8ers vs Crazy 8, Scotchie's Bar, Arima
Triple Bee's vs Checkside 1, Club Fete, Gasparillo
Dekko All Stars vs Sharpshooters BT, Dekko Pub, Princes Town
Wednesday
Premier Division
Central Stars vs Golden Arches Titans, Kenny's Sports Bar, Chaguanas
United Stars vs The Nubian Kings, Boardroom Lounge, Debe
'D' Underdawgs vs Liquidatorz, Spar Bar and Lounge, Reform Village
Poolhulics Krew A vs Checkside, Golden Arches II, Curepe