Malta Bowling Association

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.

2nd Silver Medal for Maltese Bowlers at the Mediterranean Bowling Championships. Mauro Anastasi and Nicholas Muscat were in action again in Ankara, Turkey, this time in the Male Doubles , with another stellar performance as the team scored 2627 (218.9 average ), placing second just 10 pins behind Cyprus (2637) and 21 ahead of 3rd placed Spain. With Team Malta lying in 3rd place after 5 games, Anastasi and Muscat shot huge games of 254 and 247 respectively to go ahead of previous leaders Spain, and it was only another perfect 300 game from Iraklis from Cyprus that prevented Malta from getting gold. Muscat’s 1385 total was second best of the day, well supported by Anastasi’s 1242. This is the second silver for Malta and the second one for Anastasi after his silver in the Singles event. Next up: Women’s doubles with Sue Abela and Cynthia Frendo Duca. It-tieni Midalja tal-Fidda għall-Bowlers Maltin fil-Kampjonati tal-Mediterran tal-Bowling. Mauro Anastasi u Nicholas Muscat reġgħu kienu fl-azzjoni f’ Ankara, t-Turkija, din id-darba fid-Doubles tal-irġiel , bi prestazzjoni oħra stellari hekk kif it-tim skorja 2627 (medja ta’ 218.9), u kiseb it-tieni post, 10 pins biss wara Ċipru (2637) u 21 pin quddiem Spanja fit-tielet post. Bit-Team Malti jinsab fit-3 post wara 5 logħbiet, Anastasi u Muscat kellhom logħoba kbira ta’ 254 u 247 rispettivament biex qabżu il-leaders preċedenti Spanja. Kienet biss logħba perfetta oħra ta’ 300 miċċ-Ċiprijott Iraklis li żammet lil Malta milli tikseb id-deheb. It-total ta’ 1385 ta’ Muscat kien it-tieni l-aħjar tal-ġurnata, u kien appoġġjat tajjeb mill-1242 ta’ Anastasi, biex rebħu midaja tal-fidda.  Din hija t-tieni fidda għal Malta u t-tieni waħda għal Anastasi wara l-fidda tiegħu fis-singles. Li jmiss iisa huwa Doubles tan-nisa bit-tim ta ’ Sue Abela u Cynthia Frendo Duca.

Mauro Anastasi wins first medal for Team Malta at the Mediterranean Bowling Championships being held in Ankara, Turkey. A spirited performance in the Male Singles saw Anastasi climb up steadily with all 6 games above 200, totalling 1351 for a 225 average. After 2 good identical 205s in games 1 and 2, Mauro fired a 247 and 267 to shoot up the ranks to 3rd place after 4 games. A 222 and another 205 saw him overtake Cemal Batu Pinear from Turkey who ended up 4 pins behind Mauro. First place went to the Cypriot Iraklis Kyriakou with an incredible 1509 total (251 average) that included a perfect 300 game.  Our second male contestant, Nicholas Muscat also had a very good performance finishing strongly with a great 249 last game that saw him jump up 3 position to finish in 6th place. Earlier in the day, Cynthia Frendo Duca and Sue Abela bowled in the female singles. Frendo Duca ended up in in a very good 6th place , bowling a strong 1140 total pinfall (190 average), while Sue Abela had a tough start to these championships and ended up in 15th place. Mauro Anastasi jirbaħ l-ewwel midalja għal Team Malta fil-Kampjonati tal-Mediterran tal-Bowling li qed isiru f’ Ankara t-Turkija. Prestazzjoni ferm tajba fis- Singles tal-irgiel rat lil Anastasi ikollu s-sitt logħbiet kollha l fuq minn 200, b’ total ta 1351 għal medja qawwijja ta’ 225. Wara bidu tajjeb b’ żewġ logħbiet identiċi ta 205s, Mauro laghab 247 u 267 biex tela’ għat-3 post wara 4 logħbiet. L-ahhar żewġ logħbiet ta 222 u 205 rawh jaqbeż lil Cemal Batu Pinear mit-Turkija li spiċċa 4 pins wara Mauro. L-ewwel post mar għaċ-Ċiprijott Iraklis Kyriakou b’total inkredibbli ta’ 1509 (medja ta’ 251) li kien jinkludi logħba perfetta ta’ 300. It-tieni kontestant Malti fil Male singles , Nicholas Muscat ukoll kellu wirja tajba hafna, fejn temm b’ partita kbira ta’ 249 fl-ahhar loghba li rawh jaqbeż 3 pożizzjonijiet biex spicca fis-6 post. Aktar kmieni matul il-ġurnata, Cynthia Frendo Duca u Sue Abela laghbu fis-sezjoni tas-singles femminili. Frendo Duca spiċċat tajjeb fis-6 post , b’ pinfall totali b’ saħħtu ta’ 1140 (medja ta’ 190), filwaqt li Sue Abela kellha bidu iebes għal dawn il-kampjonati u spiċċat fil-15-il post. Il-kontingent Malti huwa mmexxi mil kowc nazzjonali Mark Spiteri.

The Malta Bowling Federation won a third medal at the European Youth Championships in Turkey. On Sunday, Kayden Lagana won a bronze medal in the Masters event to add to the third placings of Nicolai Mallia in the singles and the Maltese selection in the Team Event. Following the results in the Singles, Doubles and Team Events, Nicolai Mallia and Kayden Lagana’ made it to the top 16 overall and so they qualified for the Masters, with Micallef in seventh place and Kayden in 16th. Step 1 saw Mallia easily beating Raphael Durivault from France 207-177 and 232-192, while Lagana faced the leader Tobias Kastfelt Bryde from Denmark. Lagana lost the first game 224-237, but then got back on level terms with game 2, 221-213 and then ran away with a great 256 -181 last game to join Mallia in Step 2. Mallia faced David Giantomassi from Italy and started with a huge 289 against the Italian’s 217. However, Mallia was a bit unlucky in the next 2 games and lost 182-207, and 172-206 to end his very successful EYC participation in Turkey. The Maltese contingent’s focus switched to Kayden Lagana’ who faced home favourite Tuna Boncu. Both games were close, and both went Lagana’s way 214-202, 211-209, ensuring the Maltese bowler would now get a medal. Semi finals saw Lagana face Timeo Dujardin from France, whose 247 and 235 were enough to overcome Lagana’s 186 and 208. This meant Lagana ended up in third place with a bronze medal, while Dujardin faced Giantomassi in the finals and ended up as Masters winner with a convincing  211-182, 276-214 win. Team Malta was lead by National Coach Mark Spiteri. Another successful event for Malta Bowling Association in the European scene.

The Malta Bowling Association won a second medal at the European Youth Championships after the boys’ selection secured a bronze in the teams’ competition. After Nicolai Mallia’s bronze in the singles at the start of the week, the boys team made up of Nicolai Mallia, Tomas Caruso, Travis Barbara and Kayden Lagana, lead by national coach Mark Spiteri, produced a strong performance in the team event to secure its place on the podium. The Maltese youth selection qualified in first place to make it into the semi-finals. The Maltese bowlers started the games with a whopping 930 total but then slowed down to 749 and 676 in games 2 and 3 on day 1 of the team event, to finish in seventh place. The team came out fully concentrated on day 2 and shot superb games of 848, 842 and 853 to end up with 4,898 just three pins ahead of Denmark (4895), followed by Germany on 4,878 and Turkey on 4,839.  Malta went on to face Turkey in the semi-finals, and both teams put up a strong fight till the end. The home team managed to draw on the very vociferous support of their numerous supporters to eventually win 846-803. Thus, Malta had to settle with a bronze medal. Turkey went on to face Germany who had defeated Denmark in the other semi-final, with Germany ending as European champions.   Nicolai and Kayden, who finished 7th and 16th in the all events respectively, will now bowl in the Masters on Sunday.

Nicolai Mallia brings home first medal at the European Youth Championships in Turkey 15 year old Nicolai Mallia had a brilliant start at the European Youth Championships in Samsun, Turkey as he shot a 1331 over 6 games to make the top 4 cut out of 91 bowlers.  He then had to face Frank Stephenson from the UK, another left handed bowler. Nicolai took a slight lead by the 5th frame, but then an unlucky split left the door open to Frank who shot 5 in a row to beat Mallia 235-204. A brilliant 3rd place and bronze medal for our Nicolai, while Frank went on to win the gold medal in the final.  All our youths bowled well on this first day, with Kayden Lagana’ in 20th place with a 204.5 average, Travis Barbara in 24th place (202.8) and Tomas Caruso in 34th place (195.5). Nicolai Mallia ġib l-ewwel midalja fil-Kampjonati Ewropej taż-Żgħażagħ fit-Turkija Nicolai Mallia ta 15-il sena kellu bidu brillanti fil-Kampjonati Ewropej taż-Żgħażagħ tal-ten pin bowling hekk kif lagħab serje ta 1331 fuq 6 logħbiet biex għadda ma l-aqwa 4 minn 91 bowler. Imbagħad kellu jiffaċċja lil Frank Stephenson mir-Renju Unit, bowler ieħor xellugi bħalu. Nicolai ħa vantaġġ żgħir mill-5 frame, iżda mbagħad split sfortunat ħalla il-bieb miftuħ għal Frank li b’ 5 strikes wara xulxin għeleb lil Mallia 235-204. Midalja tal-bronż ferm meritata għal Mallia , filwaqt li Frank kompla biex rebaħ il-midalja tad-deheb fil-final. Iż-żgħażagħ kollha tagħna lagħbu tajjeb f’din l-ewwel ġurnata, b’ Kayden Lagana jispiċċa fl-20 post b’ medja ta’ 204.5, Travis Barbara fl-24 post (202.8) u Tomas Caruso fl-34 post (195.5).