APA 2008 League Review
November 18th, 2008
The semi-finals of the 2008 APA League saw the ACBS Team, captained by Cliff Keach, play off against North Shore’s Mack Attack Team, captained by Lee Stevenson; and Jimmy Henry’s Brother’s Team square off against David Breen’s New Lynn Pool Shooters.
The match between ACBS and Mack Attack was a repeat of last year’s memorable semi-final, which ACBS clinched 5-4 in a real nail biter, and at 4-3 up this time ACBS gave themselves two chances to see the match out. Rod Mitchell came back from 0-2 down to tie up Vinnie Gounder 2-2, but couldn’t quite put the match beyond doubt, losing 2-3. He then teamed with Bob Semple in the final doubles game to take the match 5-4 once gain, for the second year running, leaving the North Shore wondering what might have been.
In the other Semi-final, an upset was on the cards as New Lynn Pool Shooters Team took Brothers to 3-4 with two matches to go. The Brothers remained cook under pressure to take both games and reach the final with a 6-3 victory.
The ACBS Team was anxious to improve on the 1-8 drubbing they received in 2007 at the hands of Glen Eden (which consisted of a number of 2–8 Brother’s players). The Brothers quickly put ACBS to the sword, racing into an unbeatable 5-1 lead with some strong performances by Jordan Davey and Lorna Frost, as well as captain Jimmy Henry. Two matches could have turned the 2008 League Final on its head, however, with Rod Mitchell missing out by the odd frame 2-3, and Ken McDonald taking a determined first frame before Tim Putu rose to the challenge and ran out a 3-1 winner. ACBS did improve over 2007, however, by taking two of the last three matches to finish up 3-6 down.
So it was big “ups” to the Brothers Team in a Final played in great spirit, and as they proved with a massive 19 wins from 21 season matches, they are a force to be reckoned with. Congratulations to the, and thanks to the APA organisers as well as the all teams for making the 2008 APA League a success. See you all next year!
Article submitted by Jon Grimley
