Deserved titles for Arpa and Anastasi

The 2004 MTBA National Championship was played recently at the Eden SuperBowl, with the prestigious titles going to Kenneth Arpa and Melissa Anastasi.

The two bowlers were the undisputed winners of their respective category. They had led their divisions all the way from round one.

This year's format differed from previous editions. This time bowlers played on two very different lane conditions (short-oil and long-oil) in preparation for the European Championship in Antalya next month. The new champions will travel to Turkey for a tournament which will be played under very similar conditions.

After the 16 qualifying games, round two was played over a double 'round-robin' between the top six. A bonus points system was adopted. The qualifiers were: Arpa, Dennis Mercieca, Brian Farrugia, Leli Baldacchino, Mark Muscat and Mauro Anastasi and Anastasi, Doris Camilleri, Sue Abela, Jenny Swift, Joanna Attard and Pam Demanuele.

Arpa started round two just 18 pins ahead of Mercieca, knowing that it was all to play for.

But then, he chalked up three wins in the first round for 964 pins plus a 60 bonus in the process. Mercieca only managed two wins for a bonus of 40 plus his 863 game pins. This placed Arpa in a stronger position on a 4,250 total, 133 better off than Farrugia as Mercieca dropped to third place, just six behind.

Arpa went one better in the second round robin, winning four of his five games to roll a championship winning tally of 5,311.

Farrugia made a bold effort in his second set, shooting a 1,002 scratch total, but only winning two of the five games, just enough to keep him in the runner-up position.

Mercieca struggled with the second lane condition, winning just one game. He dropped into fourth place, giving up his previous position to Baldacchino whose four wins pushed him up to a 5,120 tournament total.

Anastasi's 82-pin lead after round one could have quickly been cancelled with the unpredictable bonus point system. However, a brilliant 100% win record in her first set resulted in a stronger position at the top on 4,314, 174 pins ahead of second-placed Doris Camilleri, 4,140. The latter was 10 pins ahead of Abela at that stage.

Abela was Anastasi's strongest challenger in the exciting second set, playing an impressive 1,021 scratch series which featured three wins for an extra 60 points - giving her a final score of 5,211.

This was only good enough for second place, however, as Anastasi won four from five to finish on 5,348 for a surely deserved victory.

Abela's strong performance pushed Camilleri into third place, the latter finishing on a 5,118 total.