The Middlesea Valletta Life National League continued at the Eden SuperBowl, where week five saw Aercomms double their lead to eight points thanks to their 8-0 battering of Redwell Heating.
One of the surprise results of the match was the tense 4-4 tie between La Spigola and title chasers Fina First, while in other matches there were six point victories for Vintage over Faces, Royal Shock over Right Deal and Sammy’s Embroideries against Ramis, The final match of the week produced a second 4-all draw between HSBC and Sagio Investments.
Another solid 8-0 victory for Aercomms along with some other favourable results, have helped them take a firm hold on the Div I lead, although the current season is still very much in it’s infancy. Redwell Heating played a perfectly respectable series against the defending champions but just couldn’t make the scoreboard, bowing to Aercomms’ superiority.
Game one was the closest of the set, ending 768-759, but then Aercomms really tore into Redwell with an 880-793 win in game two, followed by an 823-742 win in the last game. Ray Falzon Reale (Aercomms), 646 (Bowler of the week). Doris Camilleri (Redwell Heating), 627 (Bowler of the week).
Fina First helped Aercomms to increase their Div I lead to eight points by ending up with a 4-all draw against a cocky La Spigola foursome. Fina looked set to scoop an easy match win as they scooped game one with a 660-809 score line, but it was 2-2 after the second game which featured a very tense finish, 711-691 the score to La Spigola.
The loss seemed to knock Fina out of step, and La Spigola went on to win game three 785-756, missing out on match victory due to Fina’s high opening game, the latter clinching the series points with their 100 pin advantage (2,156-2,256). Mark Spiteri, Matthew Caruana (Fina First), 566. Philippe Vancell (La Spigola), 557.
Royal Shock moved up to third place thanks to their 6-2 win over Right Deal who are now eighth. It was Right Deal who opened the scoring, taking game one by 27 pins (714-741), but Royal Shock were level after winning the very tight second game with 786 pins, just seven ahead of Right Deal’s 779 effort.
It was anybody’s match as game three got underway, and it was then that Royal Shock made their mark, winning it 790-720 to win the series by 50 pins (2,290-2,240).
The luck has been against Ramis so far this season, which was again evident in their week five clash with Sammy’s Embroideries, the latter emerging as 2-6 victors. The clash started with a good 809-724 winner for Ramis, and then swung right back with a 684-815 equaliser for Sammy’s Embroideries in game two. Sammy’s held their form in the decider which they won 705-791 to take the series 2,198-2,330 for the match. Emmanuel Saliba (Sammy’s Embroideries), 557. Leli Baldacchino (Ramis), 614.
There was another 6-2 result in the match between Vintage and Faces, Vintage finishing on the winning side. Faces took the early lead with a 686-740 opening win, but then the match was squared after Vintage’s 700-673 win in game two. Again, game three would decide the match, and Vintage won it 728-673 to claim the series by just 28 pins (2,114-2,086).
Sagio Investments dropped a spot to fourth after their 4-4 tie with HSBC in week five, the latter lying in seventh place. HSBC easily took game one 798-741, before stumbling to a low 702 against Sagio’s 814 in game two, which would turn out to be a very important game score.
HSBC did bounce back for a 735-729 win in game three, but Sagio Investments were able to force the draw thanks to their big win in game two, clinching the series points (2,235-2,284). Mark Bugeja (Sagio Investments), 598. Helenio Grech (HSBC), 584.
Standings – National Div. I Week 5
Aercomms-36, Fina First-28, Royal Shock-28, Sagio Investments-26, Sammy’s Embroideries-25, Vintage-20, HSBC-18, Right Deal-15, La Spigola-12, Ramis-12, Redwell Heating-10, Faces-10
Bowlers of the Week
Ray Falzon Reale (Aercomms) 646; Doris Camilleri (Fina First) 627.