There is but one day left for round-robin play in the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup, and time is running out for some of the hopefuls.

The key word, however, is hope – and that emotion is still running strong in several quarters.

With three rounds to go in both competitions, a handful of teams are hanging around the eighth and final qualifying spot, including USA II, whose woes continued on Friday with three losses and a tie. They have plummeted from second place to 12th, although they are still in contention, only 8 Victory Points out of eighth place.

The story of the day was Bulgaria’s sensational rise from 15th place to sixth with 88 out of a possible 100 VPs. Bulgaria was four for four, winning convincingly against New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Bermuda.
Italy and USA I continue to set the pace in the Bermuda Bowl, as Italy held a 13-VP edge over the Americans. The two teams will face each other in round 21, possibly to determine the leader of the round-robin.

In the Venice Cup, Germany, the defending champions, finally came to life with two wins out of three, including a 53-5 thrashing of Australia. The Germans moved into seventh place after languishing out of the money for most of the round-robin. They must maintain their momentum, however, because Sweden and England are nipping at their heels.

The pace-setters in the Venice Cup are USA II, followed closely by China and the Netherlands, who won the championship in Bermuda in 2000. USA I is right behind them.

In the Senior Bowl, France regained the lead by 1 VP over USA I with victories over Australia and USA II, who ended the day in fourth place, right behind Israel.