The Nice CPC conceded their fifth defeat of the season on the 13th day of the Pro B table tennis league this evening at the Raoul-Dufy hall, against EP Issy-les-Moulineaux (2-4). While the outcome seemed logical given the individual rankings, the match was closer than it appeared.
Taiwan’s Chen Chien An, undefeated this season, lived up to his reputation by easily securing two points for the team from Île-de-France. The other matches were relatively contested, though none went the distance to a deciding game. The two points for Nice were credited to Anthony Geminiani and Hungarian David Zombori, who both managed to defeat the junior player (from Var) Enzo Angles.
Nice CPC might have snatched a draw if Anthony Peretti and Anthony Geminiani had been more successful against another junior, Romain Lorentz, who demonstrated both physical and mental toughness during critical moments.
In three weeks, the team from the Côte d’Azur will travel to Saint-Louis, a strong team with whom they drew in the first leg.
They will then return to their Raoul-Dufy hall on April 17 to host Villeneuve-sur-Lot, aiming to secure their position in Pro B on sporting merit.
Sporting merit because, given the decisions by Levallois-Perret and Cestas to withdraw from the professional league, all the teams in Pro A and Pro B should remain in their division, regardless of their ranking.
Before that, it should be noted that the Nice CPC reserve team has a crucial match for promotion to National 2 on Saturday afternoon against the reserve team of Fontenay-sous-Bois. Mexican player Marcos Madrid, who was rested this evening, will strengthen the Côte d’Azur squad in Val-de-Marne.
