The Middlesea Valletta Life National League has progressed through week six at the Eden SuperBowl, where Fina First have managed to extend their lead to eight points thanks to their 100% win over Redwell Heating, while chasers Aercomms dropped two points in their majority win over PharmaVet.

The match of the week, however, was that of HSBC against Union Capital Group, the struggling HSBC side stealing all eight points from their opponents who lost their second spot with the defeat. In other matches Royal Shock got the better of NINE, while QF Ltd were held to a 4-all draw by Ramis.

HSBC pulled off the surprise result of the week, putting an abrupt stop to the winning streak enjoyed by Union Capital Group recently.

HSBC worked hard for their win, taking the opener by just 16 pins (790-774), and then making it 4-0 with a tight 738-733 second game win. Union Capital were showing the strain by now, and HSBC capitalized with an easy 837-729 game three winner to complete the whitewash, lifting themselves off the bottom of the table, and pulling the losing side down from second to third. Leli Baldacchino (HSBC), 574. Neil Sullivan (Union Capital Group), 594.

Fina First are pulling slowly and ominously away from the pack, their 0-8 pummelling of Redwell Heating, coupled with some other results in their favour, saw them go eight points ahead after week six.

They were never really troubled by Redwell, opening the scoring with a 706-841 opening win, then doubling their lead with a 681-757 win in game two. Game three fell 698-749 in Fina’s favour to confirm the 100 per cent victory. Matthew Caruana’s recovery after a serious car accident some months ago appears to have progressed in great strides, as he finished Fina’s hi-bowler with a solid 635 series. Shawn Bugeja (Redwell Heating), 514.

Aercomms go up to second after their 2-6 win over PharmaVet, and taking advantage of Union Capitals heavy defeat. PharmaVet put up quite a fight in game one, eventually losing it 787-831, before going on to make it 2-2 with their 822-758 equalizer in game two. Game three was almost a no-contest, won easily by Aercomms 642-839 for the latter to take the match. Paul Baldacchino (Aercomms), 590, Bowler of the Week. Melissa Swift (PharmaVet), 573, Bowler of the Week.

NINE dropped to the foot of Div I after losing out 2-6 against Royal Shock this week, as the winners move into fourth place. Royal Shock drew first blood with their 624-718 win in the first of the set, but then NINE bounced right back to go 2-2 with their 778-683 winning response in game two. There was next to nothing in it going into game three, which was eventually bagged by Royal Shock 670-707, also giving them the series by 36 pins (2072-2108) for the match win. Vince Magri (Royal Shock), 521. Joe Smith (NINE), 518.

Youthful QF Ltd were the early leaders in their clash with a seasoned Ramis outfit, winning game one 744-718. Their lead was short lived however, as Ramis came back to level it with a 785-803 game two win. Game three was close, ending 736-741 for Ramis, but it wasn’t enough for them to steal victory as QF Ltd claimed the series points with a mere 3 pin advantage (2265-2262). Lawrence Bonnici (Ramis), 549. Ryan Grech (QF Ltd), 598.

Standings - Division I, Week 6

Fina First-44, Aercomms-36, Union Capital Group-32, Royal Shock-25, QF Ltd-24, Ramis-20, PharmaVet-20, Redwell Heating-15, HSBC-14, NINE-10

Bowlers of the Week: Paul Baldacchino (Aercomms) 690; Melissa Swift (PharmaVet) 573.