As this season’s Chiang Mai Pool League nears its
climax, leaders Half Moon Pub kept up their winning ways last week, but
second placed Chiangers and Bangers fell three points adrift with five
matches left to play after a shock home defeat to Rock Hard Bistro.
Daeng’s
winning shot for La Villa.
Top of the table, Half Moon Pub eased their way into an
unassailable 6-0 lead before a little complacency on their behalf allowed
December Bar to take all three doubles as consolation.
Meanwhile, Chiangers and Bangers, who badly needed a win
to maintain a realistic chance of catching the Moon, won the first frame
against Rock Hard Bistro. But they lost the next five – four of them with
just the black ball left - and now require a small miracle to overhaul the
leaders.
While Half Moon moves out of reach, the race for runners
up is still very much on, with only two points separating the next five
teams. Apart from Chiangers, The Local continued their run of recent
consistency by out pointing fellow challengers Blue Sky Bar at home 5-4.
Uncharacteristically,The Local shot into a 3-0 lead, but
the visitor’s reply pushed the home side back into their usual grinding
mode, and the doubles started well after all the other matches in the league
had ended. Although 5-1 to “The Grinders” at this stage, the fight for
valuable game points turned the match into a battle of attrition with Blue
Sky Bar clawing back to 5-4 just before Saturday morning.
The other two sides in this group also played each other
at The Wall, and it couldn’t have been closer. With nothing separating the
two sides at halftime, Friend’s Corner moved into the lead on the first
doubles, only to see The Wall snatch the last two frames and take the point.
Last week’s dispute between Number 1 Pub and Blue Sky
Bar was sorted out with the original score of 6-3 to Blue Sky left standing.
This was decided because apparently the offending game had been replayed on
the night in question.
Number 1 had to return to the same venue last week to
play Blue Sky Garden and received little change by losing 3-6 again.
Elsewhere, Happy Bar put up another brave performance in
taking Enjoy Place all the way after being 2-4 down after the singles. But
they lost the last frame to run out 4-5 losers for the 9th time this term.
It’s rumored that they’re changing their name to Heartbreak Hotel next
season.
Lastly, La Villa won comfortably against out of form Out
Back. “The Pizza Boys” pressed home a solid performance by moving into a
6-1 lead before Out Back regained some composure to take the last two games.
In the league’s remaining matches, Chiangers and Bangers must still
play Blue Sky Bar and The Local, who will also have to face Friend’s
Corner and Half Moon Pub. Half Moon will come up against The Wall on January
20th and the unpredic-table Rock Hard Bistro the week after. So, maybe
there’s still a chance of a small miracle.
The
announcement by UNICEF that all proceeds from the 5th Khun Anand Panyarachun
Charity Golf Invitational will go to support the HIV/AIDS Prevention and
Care Program in Thailand and the Eastern Seaboard prompted a quick response
and substantial media sponsorship from two media groups.