Week nine marks the end of round one of the Middlesea Valletta Life National League at the Eden SuperBowl, and Fina First are still atop of Div I by nine points as they head into round two. They were 6 - 2 winners against QF Ltd., while chasers Aercomms claimed the largest victory of the week in a 1 - 7 result against third placed Union Capital Group.
Other matches all saw six point wins for Royal Shock against HSBC, Ramis against PharmaVet, and finally for NINE over Redwell Heating.
Game one between Union Capital Group and defending champs Aercomms was a real gripper, in fact ending in a 771 - 771 draw for one point each. Aercomms then took control of the encounter with a 735 - 800 game two win to go 1 - 3 ahead, and followed with another 800 game against a 734 effort from Union Capital for a final winning score of 1 - 7.
Paul Baldacchino (Aercomms), 692, Bowler of the Week. Mark Muscat (Union Capital Group), 566.
Fina First faced a keen QF Ltd outfit this week, taking the early lead with their low pressure 812 - 734 opening win. Fina were also over 800 in game two, winning it 805 - 746 to go 4 - 0 ahead, boosting their expectations of an easy 100 per cent victory.
That was not to materialise however, as QF Ltd managed to rally to a thrilling 790 - 806 win in game three, thus snatching two points away from their high flying opponents. Brian Farrugia (Fina First), 644. Tiziana Carannante (QF Ltd, 556.
PharmaVet (4th) suffered a 2 - 6 defeat at the hands of Ramis, a definite spoke in the wheel of their attempts to stay close to the big three.
Ramis were first on the score board with an 819 - 723 opening victory, but PharmaVet then levelled things by winning the second of the series with a 780 - 793 score line. Game three was an easy 803 - 698 win for Ramis, handing them the match. Lawrence Bonnici (Ramis), 594. Danial Swift (PharmaVet), 552.
HSBC got off to a winning start in their clash with Royal Shock, narrowly clinching game one 673 - 682. Royal Shock recovered to make it 2 - 2 with a 786 - 731 win in the second, and then claimed the 6 - 2 victory with a 737 - 658 win in game three. David Fenech (Royal Shock), 548. Marco Porsella Flores (HSBC), 525.
The fourth and final six point victory of week nine fell in favour of struggling NINE, with losing side Redwell Heating replacing them at the foot of the table. As in other matches, the eventual winners drew first blood with a 667 - 694 initial win, but then Redwell made it 2 - 2 thanks to their 689 - 660 game two equaliser. Both teams improved for a better game three, which went to NINE 726 - 792 to hand them the lion's share of the points on the night. Karl Galea Pace (NINE), 544. Joanna Attard (Redwell Heating), 512.
Standings - Middlesea Valletta Life National Division I, Week 9
Fina First - 58, Aercomms - 49, Union Capital Group - 43, Pharmavet - 36, Royal Shock - 35, Ramis - 32, QF Ltd - 32, HSBC - 30, NINE - 24, Redwell Heating - 21
Bowlers of the Week:
Paul Baldacchino (Aercomms)-692
Sue Abela (Fina First) - 616