Week 18 of the MSV Life National League marked the final fixtures of the two regular rounds of the season, with only a three week Championship Round still to be played between the top four teams.
Top team okmalta.com dropped two points in their win over bottom side Middlesea Insurance, while both Ramis and Fina picked up full point victories against Grolsch and Salitos respectively.
Royal Shock also took eight points from their clash with Gladiators, and there was a 6-2 win for The Clan against Turu’s Knights in the last match of the night.
Okmalta.com faced an already relegated Middlesea side in week eighteen, confident of picking up all eight points from such inferior opponents. That plan went awry early in the evening, as Middlesea opened with a winning 708 game, against a very poor 679 from the leaders to go 2-0 ahead.
That shocked okmalta.com into action and they bounced back to clinch a 691-807 game two equalizer. Game three was closer, falling 721-748 to okmalta.com for a 2-6 win. Mauro Anastasi (okmalta.com), 625. Stephen Falzon (Middlesea Insurance), 527.
Grolsch may have hoped for a survival lifeline from Ramis, but with valuable points up for grabs to take on into the Championship round, the second placed team were not in the mood for doing any favours. It was a close match, Ramis opening the scoring with a tense 788-783 game one win, before doubling their advantage with a 799-771 victory in the second. T
hey scooped all eight points with a 778-758 win in game three to move within four points of okmalta.com, losers Grolsch being condemned to relegation with the loss. Paul Baldacchino, Rankin Camilleri (okmalta.com), both 609. Steve Cassar (Grolsch), 586.
Third placed Fina were also in winning form, taking all eight from Salitos this week to also gain two points on the leaders. Salitos were never too much of a threat, as Fina started with a big 808-607 opening win, and then went four ahead with a 794-752 game two win.
They saved the best till last, winning the third 834-794 to complete the top series of the week (2436) and secure all eight points. Justin Caruana Scucluna (Fina), 672, male bowler of the week. Benny Hili (Salitos), 548.
Royal Shock go into the short third round as underdogs, but were impressive in their full point rout of Gladiators this week. They began with a 673-723 game one victory, and then made it 0-4 with a narrow 738-744 win in the second of the set. The Shockers made the third look easy, taking it 665-794 for the 100% result. Joe Cassar (Royal Shock), 580.
The Clan and Turu’s Knights faced off in an inconsequential mid-table match, which fell 6-2 to the former. The Clan rolled off with a very close 760-755 game one win, before improving to an 813-756 win in game two. Then the Knights struggled back for a 698-742 game three win to claim their quarter share of the points. Matthew Cossai (The Clan), 597. Peter Mallia (Turu’s Knights), 566.
Bowlers of the Week
Justin Caruana Scicluna (Fina), 672; Tiziana Carannante (Turu’s Knights), 551
Standings - Div I, Week 18
okmalta.com-112, Ramis-108, Fina-100, Royal Shock-89, Turu’s Knights-65, The Clan-64, Salitos-54, Gladiators-48, Grolsch-46, Middlesea Insurance-34
Standings - Div II, Final Standings
HSBC-112, MIA-96, Spare Me PLZ-90, Blitzkrieg-79, Supreme-78, BOV-64, Vintage-64, J Grima & Co-58, One4All-50, Touch of Class-29