In week eight of the Honda National League played at the Eden Superbowl in St Julian's, second-placed Aercomms were the only team to win all eight points in Division One, allowing them to narrow the gap between themselves and top team Fina First who won 6-2. Striking Distance were also victorious to stay third.
Aercomms secured their 8-0 victory over Bomba Giants with the highest team series of the week (2,435 pins), to close on Fina First who are now just four points ahead.
The games fell to Aercomms with relative ease, particularly game two which ended 119 pins in their favour. Clive Farrugia was in fantastic form for the winners, rolling games of 246, 248 and 219 for a fine series of 713 pins. Alistair Muscat was Bomba Giants' best with a 620.
Fina First dropped two points in their win against Maltacom KSSK. After opening with a huge 850 in the first against their opponents' very good 787. Fina rolled an uncharacteristically low 695 in the second, losing to Maltacom KSSK's 721.
The last game was a nail-biter, as anchor Dennis Mercieca needed a double to claim the win. Mercieca hit the target for a final score of 820-814, Fina First taking the match 6-2. Leli Baldacchino played a 631 series while Leli Scerri hit a 574 for Maltacom.
Striking Distance remained third after defeating Fina Excel 6-2, rolling a massive 938 game in the process. Striking Distance won the first 784-739, then went down to Fina Excel in the second 695-760.
It was in the last game that Striking Distance pushed the boat out, with all 54 bowlers topping 200 pins for the 938 total. The highest game being Kenneth Arpa's 267, with a 236 from Colin Attard. Fina Excel rolled an excellent 875, a score no team would expect to lose with!
Arpa completed a 682 series for the winners, and Fina Excel's Brian Farrugia made a 624.
It was 6-2 again in the contest between So-Safe and Technicolor. The latter had to play game one with a man short and lost it 731-604. So-Safe claimed also the second 761-654 but Technicolor went on to clinch two points by winning the 3rd 732-794. Charles Vassallo took 584 pins for the losers, while So-Safe's Joe Camilleri rolled a 57 series.
In spite of opening with a fine 853 game against Warsteiner's 755, Globalair Travel flagged in the second game of their match, losing out 642-754, wiping out their substantial pin advantage.
It was Warsteiner's turn to break the 800 pin mark in the final game of the series which they won easily (733-812) to take the match 6-2. Aldo Losco will be happy with his 588 series for Warsteiner, as will Globalair's Doris Camilleri with her 614.
www.okmalta.com secured a 6-2 win over Telesystems. None of the Telesystems bowlers managed a 500 series, while okmalta's Dominic Vella rolled a 553.
Standings: Division I, week 8 - 1. Fina First 54; 2. Aercommms 50; 3. Striking Distance 44; 4. Fina Excel 40; 5. So-Safe 37; 6. Maltacom KSSK 31; 7. www.okmalta.com 26; 8. Warsteiner 24; 9. Technicolour 24; 10. Globalair Travel 20; 11. Bomba Giants 20; 12. Telesystems 14.
Bowlers of the week: Clive Farrugia (Aercomms) 713; Lorraine Casha (Ground Zero Div IV) 612.