Fina First have regained the Middlesea Valletta National League title after their latest 19-week campaign, having lost out at the last hurdle to Aercomms in the previous season. Ironically their final fixture was a ‘position round’ clash against the outgoing champions, in which the latter prevailed in a 2-6 score line, but were still beaten into second place by one solitary point. The second relegation spot was also confirmed in week 19, with team NINE set for a return to Div II along with bottom side Redwell Heating.

Fina First held the top spot for the best part of the season, and came to their final confrontation with arch rivals Aercomms with a five point advantage, meaning they needed just two of the eight points up for grabs to be absolutely sure of the league title.

Aercomms had it all to do, needing a full point win for glory, and were certainly charged up for the occasion, taking the classy opening game 842-906 to fuel their fervour. Game two was an absolute thriller, the two illustrious sides separated only by three pins, and undoubtedly the most important of the season.

That tiny advantage fell in Fina First’s favour, handing them the league no matter what was to happen in the third. Game three was merely a formality as Aercomms were sure to finish second, but they won it 760-804 to finish the season on a 109 total, just that one point behind Fina’s winning 110 tally.

Fina’s high bowler for the week was Mark Spiteri with his 660 effort, while ‘old school’ bowler Paul Baldacchino rolled a 681 set for Aercomms, and also claimed the most prestigious individual season honour, that of Hi-Average with a very impressive 203.1 from a total of 51 games. Sue Abela claimed the ladies season Hi-Average award on 199.3, also over 51 games.

Second-from-bottom NINE were relying on at least a majority win against already relegated Redwell Heating, as well as either Ramis, HSBC or QF Ltd losing all eight in the battles for position just above them. That would have meant survival for NINE, concluding their first ever season in the top flight, but unfortunately was not to be.

While they did manage a 6-2 victory (games 724-683, 669-711, 758-615), the other influential clashes did nothing to help them. QF Ltd picked up two points from their defeat by Pharmavet (6-2), and the Ramis vs HSBC showdown finished with a similar result (2-6, Ramis). This left NINE equal on 62 points with Ramis and QF Ltd, but relegated thanks to their having the lower season pinfall of the three teams.

Union Capital Group already knew they could not budge from their third place as they came for their position round match against Royal Shock, and the result was a 6-2 win in their favour. They won game one 775-683, then made it 4-0 with a very tight 744-743 game two win. Royal Shock claimed their quarter share thanks to a 753-845 win in the last of the set.

Division II has also been completed, where Inlusion placed first on a 110 season total, ahead of second placed The Clan on 99 points. Both sides will be playing in Division I next season, while unlucky Highlanders and Blitzkrieg have been relegated to Div III.

Division IIIA and IIIB have some final fixtures remaining to conclude their season, then after a break during December ant the Christmas period, the Middlesea Valletta Life National League will be back in early January ‘08 for the next championship struggle.

Bowlers of the week

Paul Baldacchino (Aercomms) 681; Melissa Swift(Pharmavet) 570

Div I final standings

Fina First-110, Aercomms-109, Union Capital Group-95, Pharmavet-76, Royal Shock-73, HSBC-66, Ramis-62, QF Ltd-62, NINE-62 (relegated), Redwell Heating-45 (relegated)

Div II final standings

Inlusion-110 (promoted), The Clan-99 (promoted), J Grima & Co-90, Saddles Malta-83, BOV-82, Vintage-68, Supreme-63, Plaqqq-61, Highlanders-56 (relegated), Blitzkrieg-48 (relegated).