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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).

Nicholas Muscat triumphs in the MBA Masters at the Superbowl The Masters this year was a keenly contested high scoring event. The top 4 from the qualifying round were all youths, led by Nicolai Mallia with an amazing 248 average, followed by Travis Barbara, Kayden Lagana’ and Nicholas Muscat, and these all advanced to the final day directly. The next 12 bowlers went into the second qualifying day to determine which 6 would make the cut to join the top 4 on the final day. Alja Bergauer, Sue Abela, Kenneth Arpa, Tomas Caruso, Melissa Swift and Philip Gruppetta made it through. The final day saw these 10 bowlers bowl 5 games. Nicholas Muscat shot a simply stunning 1285 (257 average) to dominate proceedings, ahead of Nicolai Mallia who shot a 1184 (236). Fellow youth Tomas Caruso had a very good performance to jump up to 3rd place with a 1137 followed by Philip Gruppetta with a 1121. The last 2 places were a fight till the last frame between Alja, Kenneth, Kayden and Melissa. Kenneth ended on a 1079, with Alja clinching the last spot just 2 pins ahead of Kayden, with Melissa just another 6 pins behind. The finals saw the 6 divided into 2 groups of 3, bowling 1 game, with low person out. In Group 1, Game 1 saw Alja with a 161 losing out by just 1 pin to Philip Gruppetta, while Nicholas was never in doubt with his 206. Game 2 saw Nicholas again shooting a 208 as Gruppetta struggled to only manage a 152. Group 2 as also tight. Arpa’ 184 was not enough to beat Mallia’s 186 and Caruso’s 200, and so the 2 youngsters fought it out in the next game, with Caruso edging out Mallia 224-201. The final was a high scoring one. Tomas pushed Nicholas hard, but his 216 was not enough as Muscat had another strong 247 to finish worthy winner in this year’s Masters. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/15y12Fxpyo/ 

The 24 game qualifiers for the MBC were held recently at the Superbowl, with the top 2 males and females securing participation at the MBC in Turkey between the 27th April and the 4th of May.  Youths Nicholas Muscat and Kayden Lagana’ were in a class of their own, dominating proceedings with an average of over 230 each, to finish well clear (over 500 pins) of 3rd place Mauro Anastasi. The ladies section saw ex European Champion Sue Abela triumph ahead of  Cynthia Frendo Duca , with Melissa Swift in 3rd place. Team Malta will be accompanied by National Coach Mark Spiteri www.mbcbowling.com/mbc2025

Team Malta breaks national seniors team records to place 5th in the European Seniors Championship in Germany The Maltese team, made up of Mark Spiteri, Danial Swift, Dennis Mercieca and Kenneth Arpa saved the best for last as they had a superb performance in the team event at the ESC.  After the first day of 3 games, the team was lying in 3rd place out of 25 teams, as they established a new national seniors team record on 3 games with a 2493 (207.8 average) to stay ahead of England and Finland.   Day 2 saw both Finland and England shoot strong scores to just overtake Malta, with England capturing 4th place only 27 pins ahead of Malta (4886 vs 4859). Mark Spiteri and Kenneth Arpa were best for team Malta during the team event with a 216 and 211 average respectively, as Danial and Dennis had averages of 195 and 187 respectively. The 4859 is also a new National record for a Seniors 4 man team over 6 games.  Sweden was crowned European Seniors (50+) champions as in the finals they beat Team Italy 851-813. A great thanks goes to the sponsors VisitMalta.com for their financial support towards the team’s travel expenses, and to Superbowl at TheEden for their support with the training of the team before. ———————————————————————————————————————– Team Malta jikser ir-rekords nazzjonali tat-timijiet tal-50 plus biex jispicca l-5 post fil-Kampjonat Ewropew tas-Seniors fil-Ġermanja It-tim Malti, magħmul minn Mark Spiteri, Danial Swift, Dennis Mercieca u Kenneth Arpa salva l-aħjar għall-aħħar hekk kif kellhom prestazzjoni mill-aqwa fl-avveniment tat-tim fl-ESC. Wara l-ewwel ġurnata ta’ 3 logħbiet, it-tim kien mimdud fit-3 post minn 25 tim, hekk kif stabbilixxew rekord ġdid tat-tim nazzjonali tas-seniors fuq 3 logħbiet b’medja ta’ 2493 (207.8) biex jibqgħu qabel l-Ingilterra u l-Finlandja. It-tieni jum ra kemm lill-Finlandja kif ukoll lill-Ingilterra bi skors qawwija biex jaqbżu lil Malta bi ftit , bl-Ingilterra tilħaq ir-4 post 27 pin biss qabel Malta (4886 vs 4859). Mark Spiteri u Kenneth Arpa kienu l-aħjar għat-tim Malta waqt lkompetzzjoni  tat-tim b’medja ta’ 216 u 211 rispettivament, hekk kif Danial u Dennis kellhom medji ta’ 195 u 187 rispettivament. L-4859 huwa wkoll rekord Nazzjonali ġdid għal tim ta’ raġel tas-Seniors 4 fuq 6 logħbiet. L-Iżvezja ġew inkurunati champions tas-Seniors Ewropej (50+) hekk kif fil-finali għelbu lil Team Italy 851-813. Grazzi kbira tmur għall-isponsors VisitMalta.com għall-appoġġ finanzjarju tagħhom lejn l-ispejjeż tal-ivvjaġġar tat-tim, u għal The Eden Superbowl għall-appoġġ tagħhom bit-taħriġ tat-tim qabel kif ukoll l-assocjazzjoni Malta Bowling Association.

MBA Boys Team finalised for the European Youth Championships in Turkey. The 4 boys who will represent Malta at the upcoming EYC have qualified after a series of 6tournaments over the past 3 month in which all the 9 eligible boys bowled 30 games each.With Kayden Lagana’ and Nicolai Mallia being well ahead already after 3 sessions, and withTravis Barbara sitting in a relatively secure 3 rd position after these same 3 rounds, thechallenge revolved mainly between the next 2 youths. Tomas Caruso, and JulianBaldacchino. While Baldacchino had the experience of having already represented Malta in2024 at the EYC and took a strong lead after 2 sessions , Caruso was fighting for his firstopportunity and who was able to turn things around with a powerful last 4 sessions toovertake Baldacchino and take the 4 th spot. His performance over the last few sessions wasindeed almost enough to even overtake Barbara, who survived in 3 rd place by just 24 pins(5550 vs 5526).The overall scores saw Lagana’ end 1st with a super 214.7 average, followed by Mallia on a203 average, Barbara with 185 and Caruso with 184.2 Baldacchino ended in fifth with a172.3 average followed by the younger brother of Nicolai, Mikhail Mallia on a 170.88.Samuel Caruso, Yacob Farrugia and Kayden Zammit ended up in 6th , 7th and 8th placerespectively. MBA Boys Team finalizzat għall-Kampjonati Ewropej taż-Żgħażagħ fit-Turkija. L-4 subien li se jirrappreżentaw lil Malta fl-EYC li jmiss ikkwalifikaw wara sensiela ta 6tournaments matul l-aħħar 3 xhur li fihom id-9 subien eliġibbli lagħbu 30 logħba kull wieħed. B Kayden Lagana u Nicolai Mallia jkunu ferm il quddiem diġà wara 3 sessjonijiet, u bi TravisBarbara fit-3 pożizzjoni relattivament sigura wara dawn l-istess 3 rawnds, l-isfida kienetiddur l-aktar bejn iż-2 żgħażagħ li jmiss. Tomas Caruso, u Julian Baldacchino. Filwaqt liBaldacchino kellu l-esperjenza li diġà rrappreżenta lil Malta fl-2024 fl-EYC u ħa vantaġġqawwi wara 2 sessjonijiet , Caruso kien qed jiġġieled għall-ewwel opportunità tiegħu u kienkapaċi jdawwar l-affarijiet bl-aħħar 4 sessjonijiet b’saħħithom biex jaqbeż lil Baldacchino ujieħu r-4 post. Il-prestazzjoni tiegħu matul l-aħħar ftit sessjonijiet kienet tabilħaqq kważibiżżejjed biex saħansitra jaqbeż lil Barbara, li baqa fit-3 post b 24 pin biss (totali ta’ 5550 vs5526). Il-punteġġi ġenerali raw lil Lagana itemm fl-ewwel post medja kbira ta’ 214.7, segwit minn Mallia fuq medja 203, Barbara 185 u Caruso 184.2 Baldacchino spiċċa fil-ħames post b’ medja ta’ 172.3 segwit minn ħu ż-żgħir Nicolai, Mikhail Mallia fuq 170.88. SamuelCaruso, Yacob Farrugia u Kayden Zammit spiċċaw fis-6, is-7 u t-8 post rispettivament.

The Team representing Malta at the upcoming European Senior Championships in Leipzig, Germany are Danial Swift, Kenneth Arpa, Dennis Mercieca and Mark Spiteri. The team have been preparing for this championship at the newly built bowling centre “The Eden”. The team is supported by Sport Malta, Visit Malta and MBA.  Follow the championships here: https://esc2025.ebfchampionships.sport/