Day 7 - Crunch Time

Liam Milne

Today was a long day at the table for many teams. Our Ladies are still doing well, and the Open team pulled off some fantastic wins against top teams to move up the table. The Juniors and Girls had a few disappointments but are holding onto hope to try for a medal.

In the Ladies, China have locked up yet another gold medal at the APBF Championships with two rounds to play.

The Australian Ladies team are in second place, however, 4 VPs ahead of Chinese Taipei who are challenging them for the silver medal. Tomorrow, the Australian Ladies have a tough finish against China (currently first) and Indonesia (currently fourth). Chinese Taipei have it slightly easier, playing Japan (eighth) then China. This one could go either way, and we are all behind the Ladies who represent Australia’s only realistic shot to finish in the top two across the various series.

The first match begins at 10am Australian time, and the second match at 12:30pm Australian time. You can follow each match live by clicking one of the below links. If you want to see results board by board, click the “Tab” (table number) on the left-hand side as the match is being played.

Penultimate Match - Australian Ladies (starts 10am AEST)

Final Match - Australian Ladies (starts 12:30pm AEST)

All the best to our Ladies as they aim to hold off the Chinese Taipei women to secure back-to-back silver medals (they cruised to second place last time in the 2015 APBF).

The standings in the Open Teams with three more matches to play.

In the Open, Australia had an unwelcome start as they gave a boost to New Zealand, losing 4-32 (3.28 VPs), but had the best possible recovery, beating then-leaders China 46-1 and pushing them back to third (as New Zealand took the lead). Another win (13.72) against Chinese Taipei was followed by a 28-2 victory against Japan (16.38).

With the team finally finding form, the Open team are actually within realistic distance of the podium for, I believe, the first time this event. They will need some luck and some form to bubble up tomorrow. They play Indonesia, India and Korea 1 at the end.

 

In the Seniors, our Australia 1 team played four strong teams today: Japan 1, China, DJARUM ICBA, and China Hong Kong 1. They didn’t do so badly, losing 19-32 against Japan (6.28), but beating China (11.58) and recording a big win against the leaders DJARUM ICBA (16.55). In the last match of the day, a slam going down that was not bid at the other table and a doubled sacrifice that managed to sneak home contributed to Australia 1's 4.54 VP defeat by China Hong Kong 1.

Australia 2 lost to Japan 2 (8.42), but strung together three wins against Korea 2, China Hong Kong 2, and BHINEKA ICBA (Indonesia) to score 53.12 from the day – nicely done. They lie in eighth with Monday’s three matches still to play.

Australia 1’s chances of a medal just about ran out today, as the teams above them all had good days. They are 20 VPs behind fifth and 29 behind fourth, but can hope to rise a spot or two with good results and good luck. Australia 2 are almost certain to finish in the top half of the field and will hope to rise a spot to replace Chinese Taipei 1, 9 VPs in front.

 

The Australian Juniors team played middle-ranked Indonesia in the morning and hoped for a win on the back of their win against the Indonesians on vugraph in the previous round robin, but lost by 6 IMPs despite three game swings in the plus column (8.13 VPs). They had a useful win against the Philippines in the second match (15.85), followed by a disappointing 8-24 loss (5.58) to second-placed Singapore where most of the IMPs out were in 4, 5 or 6-IMP patches

In the last round of the day, the Juniors played top-ranked China. They were looking for a draw or thereabouts to stay in touch with the pack, with the aim of having two big wins to storm up the ladder tomorrow. Not what the doctor ordered unfortunately: China managed to double an ill-fated game that was escaping punishment at most tables to win 11 IMPs, as well as staying out of a failingvulnerable game to win 9 IMPs. This plus a few dribs and drabs added up to an unwelcome 6-33 defeat for 3.45 VPs to Australia.

The situation is not quite as dire as it looks, as Australia play bottom-ranked Thailand in the morning, hoping for a big win to put them back in it. And the last round may turn out to be crucial, as Australia plays Chinese Taipei, hopefully in a position where a good win will put a medal around their necks at another team’s expense. There may be a few nervous moments for the NPC and coach tomorrow – at least I hope so!

 

The Australian Girls played the runaway Chinese team in the morning hoping for a favourable result, but could not beat the undefeated China Girls, losing 29-68 as their main challengers for third, China Hong Kong, scored 12 VPs from the bye. In the afternoon match, Australia played against second-placed Indonesia and had a sound result, losing by 4 IMPs in a match they could easily have won on another day. This Girls team certainly have the potential to beat any team in this event when they are in form, despite their share of poor results through this event.

China Hong Kong scored the expected 20.00 against Thailand, so Australia Girls fell 10 VPs behind third place.

Rank	Team	VPs
1	China	220.30
2	Indonesia	198.43
3	China Hong Kong	138.19
4	Australia	128.17

 

The Girls have one more match to play in this APBF Championship. They play Chinese Taipei 2, while China Hong Kong play Chinese Taipei 1. Australia needs to win and China Hong Kong needs to lose. Partially out of our hands, but with any luck, the Girls will sneak onto the honours list.

 

The NZ Open team, starting the day just under 3 VPs off the lead and with many Kiwi supporters behind them, had a poor day after winning 32-4 against Australia. They lost 22-31 against Korea 1, 10-22 against India, and it only got worse as Indonesia romped them by 30 IMPs. Remarkably, they are still in top three, just 5 VPs off the lead. How so? Most of the other top teams had bad days as well! Not ideal, but the comparative difference is all that matters. New Zealand has a real chance to win their first Open APBF in 22 years tomorrow if the chips fall their way.

It is a six-horse race for the Open Championship, and the top four only play each other over Monday’s three matches. Expect a few dramatic moments to unfold as this tournament reaches its climax.

See you on vugraph tomorrow - can't wait!

Posted by Liam Milne on Monday, 5 June 2017 at 00:58