The local qualifying tournament for the fifth edition of the Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championships, was recently held by the Malta Tenpin Bowling Association at the Eden SuperBowl, St. Julian’s.
After three bowling sessions and a total of 24 games, the qualifying athletes who will now represent Malta in Kuala Lumpur next month were Neil Sullivan and Justin Caruana Scicluna from the men’s division, and Sue Abela and Tiziana Carannante from the ladies’ field.
Men’s Division: Sullivan never loses sight of victory
2010 National Champion, Neil Sullivan, has been enjoying the most successful period of his bowling career for many months, and the resulting confidence in his game was evident from day one of these Commonwealth qualifiers.
It did not take long for Sullivan to set the pace for his peers in the first eight game session, with highs of 216, 223 and 236 helping him into the top spot with a 204.2 game average (1634), ahead of veteran Paul Baldacchino in second place on 1601.
Day two saw a switch from the ‘short’ lane condition used for the front eight games, to a longer oil pattern.Sullivan was little affected by the change, retaining his scoring level and sound consistency sound to hang onto the top spot with 3,277 pins from sixteen games (204.8 ave). There was a change below him in second, as Baldacchino suffered on the changed patter, allowing Dennis Mercieca to ease through on a 3,214 tally (200.8 ave), with Justin Caruana Scicluna hot on his heels in third place on a straight 3,200 total.
Day three was the most challenging for all, with the lane oil pattern alternating lane by lane between the short and long patterns adopted.
This system can easily knock a bowler out of synch, and there was some inconsistent play all round, but again Neil Sullivan was equal to the challenge, rolling a 1,361 set for a tournament winning total of 4,821 (200.8 ave), stamping on his winning seal with a 24th game of 246, his best of the tournament.
Meanwhile Mercieca and Caruana Scicluna were locked in a tough battle for the second qualifying place, which went right down to the wire. In the end it was the youngster, Justin Caruana Scicluna, who prevailed, taking second with a 4,759 total (198.2 ave), a mere sixteen pins ahead of a disappointed Mercieca on 4,743.
Ladies’ Division: No match for invincible Abela
Sue Abela has been at the forefront of tenpin bowling in Malta for many a year, scooping near countless honours and titles both locally and also in the international arena.
Once again Abela topped the stakes in the V Commonwealth ladies division, winning it with typical ease. The scrap for the second qualifying spot was eventually won by youth champion Tiziana Carannante.
Sue Abela powered into the top spot from the opening game of day one, and never looked like being budged from there as the event took its course. She finished day one with 1,559 pins, including top games of 227, 214 and 219. Tiziana Carannante established herself in second with 1,452 pins, ahead of Josephine Borg on 1,355.
The top two held their positions throughout the middle eight, with Sue stretching her wood lead to 163 pins on 3,121, while Tiziana looked comfortable in second place on 2,958, well up on third place which was now occupied by Joanna Attard on 2,716.
Day three and the dual oil pattern came around, and after all 24 games were completed little had changed in the ladies competition as Sue Abela finished no less than 458 ahead of the chasers on 4,772 pins (198.8 ave), with Tiziana Carannante earning her ticket to Kuala Lumpur with a second place total of 4,314 (179.7 ave). Joanna Attard was left in third place on 4,157 pins.
Team Malta, made up of Neil Sullivan, Justin Caruana Scicluna, Sue Abela and Tiziana Carannante, will now represent Malta in the V Commonwealth Championships, to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between 19 and 27 February.
Their participation is being made possible thanks to backing from the MOC, KMS, the Ministry responsible for Sport, and also the Eden SuperBowl which provides the required training facilities to enable adequate preparation for Malta’s bowlers prior to their trip to Kuala Lumpur.