Snipers fall short in defence of title

THE Port Moresby Billiards and Snooker Association’s (POMBSA) corporate snooker finals for premier and open divisions went right down to the wire on Sunday.
In the premier division final, last year’s champions DKS Motors Snipers were unable to claim back-to-back titles after going down to Lamana One.
Lamana skipper Arua Simoi was first to win, taking out DKS Snipers captain John Chan two frames to one.
After losing the first frame, Snipers’ Marcus Ng re-grouped to win the next two to defeat Ralph Kaina 2-1.
Geua Welsby also lost the first frame to Kametan Sibunakau before fighting back to win 2-1.
Lamana’s Yiannis Nicolaou then evened the match scoreline after defeating Ong Beng Huat 2-0.
Lamana continued the momentum through Miria Rima, who won the last single 2-0 against Marcus Rahman to bring the match scoreline to 3-2 leading into the doubles.
The pressure was now on the Snipers as they needed to win both doubles to claim back-to-back premierships.
The Snipers’ first doubles pairing of Chan and Ng got off to a flying start, winning the first frame.
In the next frame, Lamana’s Kaina took the remaining three colours to win the second frame, taking them to a decider.
Again, Kaina was at his best when he managed a 16-break, which had the Snipers needing one snooker to get back into the game.
Unfortunately for the Snipers, Chan went in-off, gifting the frame and the premiership to Lamana.
In the open division, Kasens One beat Kasens Two after winning the deciding doubles.
POMBSA president Chan thanked the tournament sponsors for their support.