The Expendables, led by veteran player Andy Sirju, registered the first major upset in the National Pool League (NPL) First Division 10 Ball competition when they ousted Group A powerhouse United Stars on in the quarterfinals, last week.
The Expendables, who placed fourth in Group B, beat United Stars 3-2 last Tuesday away at the Boardroom Lounge in Debe and then again by the same margin at home on Thursday at the King Charles Bar, also in Debe.
The quarterfinals of the NPL First Division 10 Ball competition got going last week with the top four teams from Groups A & B making up the final eight. The Billiards Sports Organisation of T&T (BSOTT), after seeing a record 17 teams taking part, decided on the two-group format for the round-robin phase of the competition with a criss-cross knockout format for the quarterfinals. This means that the top teams in their respective groups will play the fourth-placed teams in the other group and the second-placed teams will play third in a home and away series, the winner on aggregate will advance to the semifinals.
The top four teams in Group A were United Stars, Dem Boyz, Epic Panthers and Crazy 8’s, while the top four in Group B were Sicarios, The Annihilators, Dekko All Stars and The Expendables.
The Expendables now move on to meet their Group B counterparts The Annihilators in the semifinals.
The Barry Ashmeed Syne-captained Annihilators beat the Epic Panthers on aggregate six games to four, 3-2 at Epyc Bar & Lounge in St Helena on Tuesday and Friday, again by a 3-2 margin, at their Club Fete base in Gasparillo.
The Annihilators, despite finishing two spots above Expendables in Group B, will be extremely wary going into their semifinal matchup, knowing that they lost to these opponents twice in group play.
Group A table-toppers Sicarios also advance to the semifinals after beating Crazy 8’s 3-2 at home at Billiards Place in Aranguez on Tuesday and 3-0 away at Special Brew in McBean, Couva on Thursday.
Sicarios, who are the reigning NPL 8 Ball First Division champions, will expect a tougher final-four encounter against Dem Boyz.
Dem Boyz, who are based out of Club Fete in Gasparillo, defeated Dekko All Stars 6-1 on aggregate after winning their home match 4-1 on Tuesday and registering wins in the first two games on Thursday in the return leg, to take an unassailable lead away from home at the Dekko Pub in Princes Town.
The semifinals’ first leg will get going today (Tuesday) with Sicarios hosting Dem Boyz at Billiards Place in Aranguez and The Annihilators at home to The Expendables at Club Fete in Gasparillo.
The reverse fixtures will take place on a date to be determined.