THE BALL – Third gold by Tinoco and bronze by Correia: Portugal closes Euro de Pool in great style (Billiards)
The Portuguese Jorge Tinoco (P. Ferreira) closed the European Championships in Senior Pool (players over 40) in Treviso (Italy) this Monday by securing the individual title in the discipline of Portugal. ‘Bola 9’ – his third in the event, after the singles competition of ‘Straight Pool’ and the Team competition (Portugal), by beating Spaniard Francisco Diaz-Pizarro by 8-4, opponent who had defeated in the semi-finals (6-8) Henrique Correia, ‘bronze’ in the race.
Tinoco’s third final – in five rounds of the event organized by the European Pocket Billiards Federation (EBPF) -, third gold: the protagonist of the Europeans.
Jorge Tinoco entered the final day of the Europeans and in the ’round of 16′ in style, with an unappealable 8-3 to the Swede Mahmut Mutto qualifying him in the ‘quarters’ and a victory to also guarantee a medal, against Panayiotis Petrou (Cyprus of Cyprus). North). Another tough battle for the 44-year-old Lisboner, who has lived in the Algarve (Lagos) for 33 years, who recovered from 4-5 to win 8-5 and immediately secure a third medal (in five regular European events), after the Gold in the ‘Straight Pool’ and by Teams (Portugal).
The prospect of a third gold became even more dense when, in the semi-finals, and with a guaranteed ‘bronze’, it went from 1-4 to 8-4 – seven streak matches! – to beat Norwegian Ronny Oldervik to take a place in his third third final of five tournaments at the event.
In the final, the Algarve regional sweets commercial came in better and reached 2-0, and after, in this Iberian duel, Pizarro pulled back 1-2, until… 5-1, the 6-2 withstood the reaction of the Spaniard, who won two streak matches (4-6) but the 7-4 left ‘Tinouro’ to a match for the best possible end of the party in Treviso and an unforgettable performance in the history of national billiards. Extraordinary service, one to remember.
Henrique Bronze Belt After Team Gold
But Portugal still dreamed of a 100% Portuguese final, with Henrique Correia (Académica de Coimbra) in the fight until the ‘socks’ of ‘Bola 9’, too. The Viennese started this last day of competition in Trevido by beating the Swiss Murat Ayas in the last 16 in the round of 16, and played in the ‘fourths’ – already to guarantee a bronze medal, at least, there is no game maintenance of the 3rd and 4th places, all the semi-finalists secure the podium – against the Norwegian Didrik Vatne.
A game in which Henrique Correia recovered sensationally, from 2-5 and 6-7, to win in the ‘Black’ (8-7) and guarantee, after the Gold by Teams (Portugal, with Manuel Pereira and Jorge Tinoco) a second medal his responsibility Europeans of Treviso. It was bronze, as soon after, in the semi-finals, it did not resist the Spaniard Francisco Diaz-Pizarro (6-8).
In total, in five European competitions in Poo, Portugal achieved triple gold – Teams (Henrique Correia, Manuel Pereira and Jorge Tinoco, and in the individual competitions of ‘Straight Pool’ and ‘Bola 9’, the latter two by Jorge Tinoco – and a bronze, with Henrique Correia in this men’s ‘9 Ball’ singles event, where 75 players competed.
Second medal for the Anglo-Portuguese Alexandra Cunha… and gold!
On a full day of competition on the blues in Treviso, in the women’s ‘Bola 9’ competition, the Anglo-Portuguese Alexandra Cunha, 47 years old – Lisbon and raised in Sintra (Algueirão), emigrant in Norwich and competing under the flag of Great Britain – faced in the ‘quarters’, and already to secure her second fundamental European medal, the Italian Cristina Moscetti.
A tense game, in which Alexandra was winning 5-3, the host country player forced the ‘nera’ (5-5) and it was only in the decisive partial that Cunha secured her second medal in Treviso, by winning (6 -5).
In the ‘socks’, it was up to Alexandra Cunha to face a single player who had defeated her (2-6), in the preambular phase of the individual contest for ‘Bola 9’, the Norwegian Ine Helvik. And when everything seemed to be going for the worst (2-5), another fiber recovery: four partials of gusts and won in the ‘black’ (6-5), to make a place in the final against the German Karin Michl, with the certainty that , after the bronze in ‘Bola 10’, this second medal would already be silver… or the desired gold.
The German team started better in the final, still ongoing (0-2), a former FC Porto, Benfica and Sporting athlete turned to 3-2 from then on he always led… to beat the German by 6-4 and guarantee second European title for born in Portugal on this full day in Treviso. A day such as there must be no memory in the national pool, for the Anglo-Portuguese woman, who confessed to A BOLA “he will, yes, but with the national anthem”, to whom the “God Save the Queen” “says nothing”.