Malta Bowling Association

Silver Cup 2025 Charlize Bartolo and Luke Mercieca win their first tournament as both finished first in the 6-game qualifying round and stayed in the lead after the 5 game round robin match play on the second day of the competition. 24 competitors participated in this year competition. Read more here

The Premier League has come to a close and as expected and predicted before the league even started, OkMalta.com are the worthy Premier League champions. What was perhaps not predictable was the sheer dominance the team showed, winning all 14 matches, losing just 3 games in the process (1 in the first round in which their dominance was even more evident, and 2 in the last couple of days when everything was pretty much wrapped up for them). 28 points ahead of second placed Brunswick, 1300 pins total ahead oof the same (and gap was proportionately bigger in round 1), best season scores and so on. Simply UNBEATABLE, and will likely remain the team to beat for many seasons. Utterly dominant. CONGRATS!!!  From left to right Dennis Mercieca, Nicholas Muscat, Kayden Lagana’, Kenneth Arpa, Mauro Anastasi and Rankin Camilleri.

Bank of Valletta National Championships 2025Cynthia F. Duca and Nicolai Mallia Crowned National Champions The 2025 Bank of Valletta National Championships concluded with Cynthia F. Duca and Nicolai Mallia emerging as the well-deserved National Champions. Both athletes displayed exceptional skill and consistency throughout the competition, securing their titles in dominant fashion. In the women’s division, Sue Abela claimed the runner-up position, with Melissa Swift finishing third. On the men’s side, Kayden Lagana’ and Matthew Magro placed second and third respectively, following a tightly contested series. Cynthia and Nicolai will now go on to represent Malta at the upcoming European Championship of Champions (ECC), set to take place this October in Vienna. Congratulations to all participants for their outstanding performances!

Nicholas Muscat places in 13th place at the IBF Youth World Cup in Helsingborg Sweden. Two Maltese youths, Nicholas Muscat and Kathryn Fenech, earned the right to represent Malta at the IBF Youth World Cup held earlier in June this year. This very competitive World Cup had top players from all over the world including powerhouses such as the USA, Malaysia, Australia and most of the European Countries.   Muscat started off very strongly during the 18 game qualifying section, bowling almost a 222 average and placing 8, and so advancing to the top 16 Matchplay section.  Muscat stayed in 8th place after the first 8 games in this Matchplay as he won half, again bowling a great 221 average.  The next 7 games however did not go his way and finished in 13th place and out of the cut with an overall Matchplay average of 212. In the ladies, Fenech did not manage to make the cut even though she played 15 pins above her average, as the level overall especially of the top 16 was simply too strong. Muscat and Fenech were accompanied by MBA National Coach Mark Spiteri, and this trip was made possible thanks to the generous support of Sport Malta.

Team Underdogs won the BOV DIV II National League comfortable. With 19 points difference one may say that they had an easy run, but it wasnt that easy. On the other hand they had a very successful run during the 2nd round. Most of the players even were the bowlers of the week several times. Well done Team, now start focusing on your adventure in the BOV Premier League. From left to right Melvin Galea, George Chircop, Alan Ciantar, Liliana Spiteri, Sandra Xuereb and inset Andre Xuereb. Link to BOV DIV II National League Table

Kathryn Fenech and Mikhail Mallia have emerged winners of the 2025 MBA Gold Cup, after the qualification round on Saturday was followed by the finals on Sunday. Young Mikhail Mallia was in the lead after the qualification, ahead of Shawn Montanaro and Alan Ciantar.  After losing the lead in game 3  of  the top 8 direct clashes finals by a few pins to Montanaro, Mallia had a run of 3 200+ games that meant he retook the lead and kept it till the end of the 7 games, to finish ahead of a resurgent Samuel Caruso who shot up from 6th to 2nd with Montanaro ending in 3rd place.  Nicholas Falzon was 4th ,ahead of  David Fenech, Daniel Ricciari, Bjorn Tabone and Alan Ciantar in 8th place. In the ladies, Fenech qualified in 2nd place just behind Jade Barbara, and faced her in the first game of the top 8 round robin winning this game and moving to first place. Fenech never looked back and won 5 out of 7 matches to stay in the lead till the very end, with Amanda Cini moving up from 3rd to second, ahead of Celianne Micallef who also won 5 matches and drew 1 , to jump all the way to 3rd from 6th place.  Ruslana Grima finished in 4th, ahead of Liliana Spiteri, Jade Barbara, Donna Vella and Sandra Xuereb. Kathryn Fenech u Mikhail Mallia ħarġu rebbieħa tal-Gold Cup MBA tal-2025, wara li r-round ta’ kwalifikazzjoni nhar is-Sibt ġie segwit mill-finali nhar il-Ħadd. Mikhail Mallia kien fl-ewwel post  wara l-kwalifikazzjoni fuq 8 logħbiet, quddiem Shawn Montanaro u Alan Ciantar. Wara li tilef il-vantaġġ wara t-tielet logħba tal-finali bi ftit pin għal Montanaro, Mallia sensiela tajba  ta’ 3 logħob ta’ aktar minn 200,  u b’hekk ħa lura l-vantaġġ u žammu sal-aħħar tal-7 logħba , biex jispiċċa quddiem  Samuel Caruso li telgha mis- sitt  posti għat-tieni , filwaqt li Montanaro temm fil-3 post. Nicholas Falzon spiċċa ir-raba’, quddiem David Fenech, Daniel Ricciari, Bjorn Tabone u Alan Ciantar li kiseb it-tmien post. Fil-kompetizzjoni femminili, Fenech kwalifikat fit-tieni post eżatt wara Jade Barbara, u lagħbet kontra tagħha fl-ewwel logħba tal-top 8 round robin, rebbiet din il-logħba u marret  fl-ewwel post. Fenech qatt ma ħarset lura u rebħet 5 minn 7 logħbiet biex tibqa’ fil-quċċata sal-aħħar, b’Amanda Cini titla’ mitt tielet post għat- tienu, quddiem Celianne Micallef li wkoll rebbħet 5 logħbiet u oħra draw , biex sparat  miss- sitt għat-tielet post. Ruslana Grima temmet for-4 post, quddiem Liliana Spiteri, Jade Barbara, Donna Vella u Sandra Xuereb.

Mauro Anastasi wins Gold in the Masters at The Mediterranean Bowling Championships in Ankara, Turkey The last day of the Mediterranean Bowling Champions saw the top 8 men and top 8 women fighting it out for the coveted Masters title. All 4 Maltese players made it to the finals , where the players bowl a 2 game total against their opponent, and kept National Coach Mark Spiteri very busy! Mauro Anastasi, Nicholas Muscat and Cynthia Frendo Duca all managed to overcome their respective opponent to move on to the semi finals, with Sue Abela unfortunately losing 360 – 349 to Claudia Amnella of Italy. Amnella then faced Frendo Duca, who won 382-340 to go to the finals where she lost 436 – 433 to French Celia Jeanne Delafosse. Frendo Duca thus added a silver to her Gold in the team , Gold in the female doubles with Abela and a bronze in the All Events.  In the male semi finals, Muscat faced Luis Jesus Briceno from Spain and had to concede defeat 438 – 417, to end up in 3rd place and secure a Bronze Medal, his 3rd of these championships after the Gold in the team and Silver in the doubles with Anastasi.  Anastasi faced another Spaniard, Axel Guimo, and defeated him with a clear 466 – 429  score, to go on to the final to face the other Spaniard, Briceno. Anastasi put on an even more impressive performance to win 474 – 422 and ensure that these Championships would be his with a total of 2 Gold medals (Masters and Team) and 2 Silver medals (Singles and Male Doubles). With these 8 medals, Malta was top of the table in this edition of the Championships and is back in the lead overall. Mauro Anastasi jirbaħ id-Deheb fil-Masters fil-Kampjonati Mediterranji tal-Bowling Ankara, it-Turkija L-aħħar ġurnata taċ-Champions tal-Mediterranean Bowling rat l-aqwa 8 irġiel u l-aqwa 8 nisa jiġġieldu għat-titlu tal-Masters. L-4 plejers Maltin waslu sal-finali, fejn il-plejers jilgħabu total ta 2 logħbiet kontra l-avversarju tagħhom, u żammew lill-kowċ nazzjonali Mark Spiteri okkupat ħafna! Mauro Anastasi, Nicholas Muscat u Cynthia Frendo Duca kollha rnexxielhom jegħlbu lill-avversarju rispettiv tagħhom biex jgħaddu għas-semifinali, fil waqt li Sue Abela sfortunatament titlef 360 – 349 kontra Claudia Amnella tal-Italja. Amnella mbagħad iffaċċjat lil Frendo Duca, li rebħet 382 – 340 biex tmur sal-finali fejn tilfet 436 – 433 kontra l-Franċiża Celia Jeanne Delafosse. Frendo Duca hekk żiedet fidda mad-Deheb tagħha fit-tim, Deheb fid-doubles tan-nisa ma Abela u bronż fl-All Events. Fis-semifinali tal-irġiel, Muscat iffaċċja lil Luis Jesus Briceno minn Spanja u kellu jċedi t-telfa 438 – 417, biex jispiċċa fit-tielet post u jikseb Midalja tal-Bronż, it-tielet tiegħu minn dawn il-kampjonati wara d-Deheb fit-tim u l-Fidda fid-doubles ma Anastasi. Anastasi ffaċċja Spanjol ieħor, Axel Guimo, u għelbuh b’punteġġ ċar ta 466 – 429, biex għadda għall-finali biex jiffaċċja l-Ispanjol l-ieħor, Briceno. Anastasi għamel prestazzjoni saħansitra aktar impressjonanti biex jirbaħ 474 – 422 u jiżgura li dawn il-Kampjonati jkunu tiegħu b’total ta’ 2 midalji tad-Deheb (Masters u Team) u 2 midalji tal-fidda (Singles u doubles maskili). B’ dawn it-8 midalji, Malta spiċċat fil-quċċata tal-klassifika f’ din l-edizzjoni tal-Kampjonati u reġgħet tinsab fuq quddiem nett fill-klassifika generali.

Cynthia F Duca secured 3rd place in the Women’s All Events and hence another Bronze medal for Malta. 3rd place was hardly fought by Cynthia and the Turkish athletes Adile Michajlow and Gulhanim Birinci. In the last game of the Team event, Cynthia played a 222 game and secured 3rd place, 24 pins better than Adile and 27 pins from Gulhanim respectively. Read Cynthia’s interview by sports journalist Cristian Muscat exactly after these championships. 

Malta National Bowling Team win Gold at the  Mediterranean Bowling Championships in Turkey . The Maltese team lead by National Coach Mark Spiteri had a simple stellar performance during the Team event, where Mauro Anastasi, Cynthia Frendo Duca, Sue Abela and Nicholas Muscat simply outclassed much larger countries such as Italy, Spain and Turkey to win Gold in Ankara, Turkey. The Maltese team ended the first set of 3 games in the morning in first place, just ahead of Cyprus, Italy and Turkey. The start of the second set saw Italy come out with a strong 813 to overtake both Malta and Cyprus by a few pins.  From then on, Malta simply took off , first bowling an 857 to regain the lead, ensuring that  both Turkey and Cyprus fell well behind, and then a simply outstanding last game of 963 (240.75 average!) ensured that Italy fell almost 200 pins behind overall (5010-4811). A brilliant performance  that also ensured all 4 Maltese players will take part in the Masters , with Cynthia Frendo Duca also securing another medal, a bronze, as she placed 3rd in the female all events category! ——————————————————————————————————————— It-Tim Nazzjonali tal-Bowling ta’ Malta huma ic- Champions fil-Kampjonati tal-Mediterran tal-Bowling ta din is-sena! It-tim Malti immexxi mil coach nazzjonali Mark Spiteri, kellu prestazzjoni stellari  matul l-kompetizzjoni tat-Timijiet, fejn Mauro Anastasi, Cynthia Frendo Duca, Sue Abela u Nicholas Muscat  għelbu pajjiżi ferm akbar bħall-Italja, Spanja u t-Turkija biex rebħu d-Deheb f’Ankara, it-Turkija. It-tim Malti temm l-ewwel sett ta’ 3 logħbiet filgħodu fl-ewwel post, eżatt qabel Ċipru, l-Italja u t-Turkija. Fil-bidu tat-tieni set, l-Italja ħarġet  b’saħħitha b’ totali ta 813 biex qabżet kemm lil Malta kif ukoll lil Ċipru b’ftit pins. Minn dakinhar ‘il quddiem, Malta ħarsu biss  ‘il quddiem, l-ewwel billi lagħab logħba  ta’ 857 biex reġgħu marru  fil-vantaġġ, u b’hekk żguraw li kemm it-Turkija kif ukoll Ċipru waqgħu lura sew, u mbagħad logħba finali sempliċement eċċellenti ta’ 963 (medja ta’ 240.75!) żgurat li l-Italja waqgħet kważi 200 pin lura b’kollox (5010-4811). Prestazzjoni brillanti li żgurat ukoll li l-4 plejers Maltin kollha se jieħdu sehem fil-Masters, b’Cynthia Frendo Duca tikseb ukoll midalja oħra, waħda tal-bronż, hekk kif ġiet fit-tielet post fil-kategorija femminili tal-All Events!

Maltese ladies strike Gold at the Mediterranean Bowling Championships in Ankara. The Maltese National Team bowlers continue to win medals at the Mediterranean Bowling Championship in Ankara, Turkey, as Sue Abela and Cynthia Frendo Duca put on a golden display of bowling to triumph in the ladies doubles. After having watched their male counterparts come agonisingly close with a silver medal in the male doubles in the morning, Abela and Frendo Duca started off steadily and then climbed their way up game by game to lie in 2nd place after 5 games. At this stage, with one game to go, Abela and Frendo Duca were 24 pins behind leaders Turkey,with France a further 36 pins behind. France quickly ran out of steam as Abela and Frendo Duca kept closing in on home side Turkey, who could not handle the pressure , and Malta overtook Turkey by 11 pins overall , gaining 35 pins in the last game! This was Malta’s first Gold medal of this edition of championships, and the 3rd medal overall for our bowlers. In-tim tan- nisa Maltin jibħu d-deheb fid – doubles waqt il-Kampjonati tal-Mediterran tal-Bowling f’ Ankara.                                                                                Il-bowlers tat-Tim Nazzjonali Malti qed ikomplu jirbħu midalji fil-Kampjonat Mediterran tal-Bowling f’ Ankara, t-Turkija, hekk kif Sue Abela u Cynthia Frendo Duca għamlu wirja stupenda biex jirbħu midalja tad-deheb fid-doubles tan-nisa. Wara li raw lit-tim Malti ta’ irġiel jersqu viċin b’ midalja tal-fidda fid-doubles filgħodu, Abela u Frendo Duca bdew b’ mod kostanti u mbagħad telgħu l fuq b’ logħba tajba wara l’oħra biex kienu jinsabu fit-tieni post wara ħames loghbiet. F’logħba waħda iedu rjirkupraw 24 pins fuq l-leaders Turkija, u jzommu lil Franza warajhom. Franza malajr spiċċaw waqaw lura, hekk kif Abela u Frendo Duca baqgħu jersqu lejn it-tim tat-Turkija, li ma setgħux ilaħħqu mal-pressjoni ta’ Abela u Frendo Duca, uMalta qabżet lit-Turkija bi 11-il pins , hekk kif it-tim Malti irkupra 35 pins fl-aħħar logħba.Din kienet l-ewwel midalja tad-deheb ghall Malta f’din l-edizzjoni tal-kampjonati, u t-tielet midalja inġenerali. għall-bowlers tagħna.