THE highly anticipated Basingstoke and District Table Tennis League Division One clash between Aldworth A and Alpha saw the home side lose 7-3 and unfortunately did not live up to its hype as Ed Slot did not play for Aldworth.

However, there was a more than adequate substitution with a repeat of the Closed Championship final between Sander de Riemer and Alex Garlick.

De Riemer maintained his 100 per cent record and was in remarkable form – beating Garlick 11-6, 11-7, 11-9. Despite losing again to de Riemer, Garlick managed to win two crucial points for Aldworth, including a victory over Paul Rattue in five games.

KG B and Hannington each took five points in a draw, with KG Captain Dave Kimberley yet again left frustrated as his side could not close out the match.

He said: “In another hard fought match we earned a 4-2 lead but we were unable to press home advantage to get a welcome victory.”

The first and penultimate matches of the evening saw Steve Rollanson beat John Ahlan and Dave Kimberley, both in five games.

There was not much that St Peters B could do against Queens A’s Tony Palaczky, who was as formidable as ever in taking another treble for his side’s 7-3 win.

Palaczky was backed by two from Marcel Ludwig, who beat Peter Howell in a very evenly balanced match with a 14-12 triumph in the deciding game. For the home side, Richard Mole showed some good form, beating both Ludwig and George White in four and three games respectively.

A strong Minitec A side overpowered KG A to win 9-1. Tony Amies (KG A) started well for his side by beating Gary Livingstone in three close games but Minitec then took the next nine matches.

Andrew Parker and Steve Murgatroyd each only dropped one game to take trebles. Captain Livingstone picked himself up after his opening loss to take two points, including a five game win against Roger Bielby.

Last year’s Basingstoke champions St Peters A are pulling away from second-placed Alpha Cars after another 10-0 victory, this time against Queens B.

The fantastic trio of Peter Matthews, James Wright and Sean Pickin only dropped three sets in their 10 matches.

Peter Martin said: “Queens B were swept aside by the St Peters steamroller – they are a cut above us.”