Week 14 of the current Middlesea Valletta Life National League has been completed at the Eden SuperBowl, apart from the match between Aercomms and Royal Shock, which was postponed due to much of the Aercomms team being unavailable.
From the five matches that were actually played, only Fina First could managed to take all eight points at the expense of stable mates Fina Excel (5th). Fina First edge closer to Aercomms, but await the outcome of the leaders’ postponed match. Ramis and Globalair Travel drew 4-all this week and are both tied for third place, while elsewhere there was a 2-6 defeat for seventh placed Right Deal at the hands of The Rascals, an similar beatings for Veltins by the Alley Catz, and the Blues Brothers who lost to Storm.
History shows a convincing statistical win advantage for Fina First in their bi-seasonal matches with sister team Fina First, and this week’s clash was further confirmation of their superiority. They won game one by 53 pins (734-681) and went on to notch up another easy win in the second which finished 802-746. Game three was closer but again it was Fina First who clinched it 749-727 for the to crystallize the 100% victory. Mauro Anastasi put in a good performance for the winners with a 614 series, while Doris Camilleri claimed a 562 for Excel, who frop from third to fifth as a result.
Ramis and Globalair Travel are tied in third on 66 points after a stalemate match this week. Ramis won game one 667-758, and it was that big game difference that allowed Ramis to clinch the draw, as Globalair came back to win the second by a much closer margin, 720-702 and the third 730-704. This meant that in spite of winning only one game from the series, Ramis snatched the series points with a 47 pins advantage (2117-2164). Roy Swift took 552 pins for Ramis and Malcolm Pace’s 545 was the best that Globalair Travel could produce.
Globalair Travel hold on to third with their majority win over The Rascals (11th) this week. The pair played tit-for-tat in the first two games as Globalair took the opener 820-740, but then Right Deal’s reply was immediate as they bounced back with a 705-815 equaliser in game two. Right Deal carried a narrow 30-pin lead into game three, but Globalair rallied to win by no less than 100 pins, thus claiming the series points by 70 (2,298-2,228). The winners claimed a pair of 565’s thanks to Simon Burke and Raymond Farrugia, and Philippe Vancell put in a 569 for the losers.
Sixth placed Veltins lost out to Alley Catz (8th) in a 6-2, clearly feeling the absence of star player Sue Abela who rested in week 14 in preparation for last week’s Mediterranean Challenge Cup also held at the SuperBowl. The match swung back and forth as the three games progressed, game one going to the Alley Catz by 25 pins 730-705, while Veltins hit back to win game two 698-750 to take a slight advantage overall. It was the Alley Catz again in game three, which they clinched 733-704, thus taking the series points by a mere two pins (2161-2159) for the majority victory. Rankin Camilleri rolled a good 582 for the winners, while tops for Veltins was Joanna Attard with her 587 effort.
Right Deal (7th) went down 2-6 due to a better, more consistent display from opponents The Rascals. The latter got straight on to the scoreboard with a 717-763 opening win, and then doubled their lead by easily taking game two 644-772, putting them a 174 advantage on the set. This may have caused some complacency amongst the team in front, and they finished with a 768-744 loss in game three to hand Right Deal their two point share. Philippe Vancell was the best Rascal with a 585 series, and high man for Right Deal was Ramon Stafrace on 553 pins.
Standings –Div. I, Week 14
Aercomms-85, Fina First-70, Ramis-66, Globalair Travel-66, Fina Excel-62, Veltins-60, Right
Deal-58, Alley Catz-56, Storm-46, The Rascals-40, Blues Brothers-28, Royal Shock-27
Bowlers of the week
Mauro Anastasi (Fina First) 614; Joanna Attard (Veltins) 587.