The new season of the Middlesea Valletta Life National League has rolled off at the Eden SuperBowl, St. Julian’s, and after two weeks it’s only newly crowned champions Fina First who can boast a 100% win record. They picked up two consecutive full point wins against Redwell Heating and Fireballs to go top on sixteen points.

Second place is occupied by Union Capital Group (ex-Sagio Investments) on twelve after a matching pair of 6-2 wins, while third and fourth are Ramis and Aercomms respectively, both on ten points.

Week One

Familiar ground for Fina aces

After clinching the title with the very last shot of the last league, Fina First came straight back meaning business, thrashing Redwell Heating 0-8 to claim the top spot from day one. The series progressed 705-762, 709-768, 743-817 meaning Fina also shot the highest team series of the week (2,347). Mark Spiteri, 654. Sue Abela (both Fina First), 615, Bowlers of the week. Joanna Attard (Redwell Heating), 550.

Fireballs made a great start by beating Royal Shock in the only other 8-point win of the week. Game scores: 673-748, 706-748, 629-641. The win placed them second, level on points with Fina, but with a considerable lower pinfall. Liliana Said (Fireballs), 531.

Union Capital went third with a majority win over Ramis, winning game one 754-792, with Ramis making it 2-2 with a 766-729 equaliser in game two. Union Capital took the third 752-812 to make the final score 2-6. Neil Sullivan (Union Capital), 582. Leli Baldacchino (Ramis), 580.

Previous season runners up Aercomms also won six points, HSBC finishing on the losing side. HSBC opened with a good 760-726 win, but then 796 wasn’t enough to stop Aercomms levelling it with an 814 in the second. The latter clinched victory with a 716-790 win in the third. Rankin Camilleri (Aercomms), 600. Bertram Vella (HSBC), 566.

PharmaVet (ex-Right Deal) took six from Sammy’s Embroideries in the last encounter of week one, going down 731-708 in game one, but then taking the match with wins of 727-740 and 708-725 in the second and third. Steve Cassar (PharmaVet) 539. Sammy Borg (Sammy’s Embroideries), 575.

Week Two

HSBC go down to Union Capital Group

Fina are yet to be tested in the new season, taking a second full point victory against Fireballs to go four points clear at the top. Game one was the closest of the set, but still falling relatively to the Champs, 752-719. Fina then clinched game two 847-686 and game three 849-718 for a solid 2,448 series. Sue Abela (Fina First), 652, Bowler of the Week. Keith Bugeja (Fireballs), 5233.

Union Capital stay second with another 6-pointer, this week against HSBC. The latter were stunned into action by a big 688-820 opening loss, and bounced back to level it with a 778-757 win in game two. Union Capital won the tie-breaking final game 767-837 for the match. Neil Sullivan (Union Capital), 626. Marco Porsella Flores (HSBC), 558.

Ramis won all eight against PharmaVet to move into third place, the series unfolding: 747-712, 791-725, 834-715. The match featured a great 641 set for Ramis from veteran Leli Baldacchino (195-224-222) who was male Bowler of the Week. Steve Cassar (PharmaVet), 551.

Redwell are bottom after their second successive defeat, losing out 2-6 to Royal Shock in week two. The defeat came in spite of a positive start wherein Redwell took the opener 764-713, but Royal Shock responded with a double-barrelled attack, winning 652-788 and 714-752 to claim victory. Clive Farrugia (Royal Shock), 565. Amanda Cini (Redwell), 541.

Aercomms vs Sammy’s Embroideries ended in a 4-all draw (686-775, 786-789, 795-635). Aercomms lie fourth after week two, but will surely prove to be a force to be reckoned with as the season progresses. Dennis Mercieca (Aercomms), 615. Tony Paris (Sammy’s), 569.

Standings- Div. I, Week 2

Fina First-16, Union Capital Group-12, Ramis-10, Aercomms-10, Fireballs-8, Sammy’s Embroideries-6, PharmaVet-6, Royal Shock-6, HSBC-4, Redwell Heating-2