The Malta women’s basketball team won their third successive gold award in the 2010 MOC Sports Awards held at the Grand Hotel Excelsior in Floriana last night.
The presentations night was attended by various distinguished personalities including Parliamentary Secretary for Sport Clyde Puli and Italian tennis player Nicola Pietrangeli who managed back-to-back titles at the French Open in 1959 and 1960.
Santino Coppa’s girls were rewarded for their triumph in the women’s European ‘C’ Championships in Azerbaijan earlier this year.
In Baku, the Maltese girls managed to successfully defend the title won in Luxembourg when they had the better of Azerbaijan in the final.
There was also major success for the Malta Racing Club as Francis Cassar, Karl Caruana, Alan Agius, George Attard and Charles Camilleri won the gold award after their victory in the Mediterranean Trotting Championships.
The Maltese drivers topped the event, organised by the Mediterranean Horse Racing Union, ahead of Italy and Serbia.
The Malta Table Football Sports Association had a triple cause for celebration last night after claiming two gold awards and a silver award.
The men’s team, composed of Mark Gauci, Joseph Borg Bonaci, Samuel Bartolo, Charlie Aquilina, Derek Conti and Massimo Cremona, received the gold award after they won the 2010 World Cup in Germany when they beat Belgium in the final.
Cremona, on his part, was honoured with the gold award after helping his club Reggiana to victory in this year’s FISTF Champions League.
Gauci, on his part, received the silver award after winning the International Open held in Athens, Greece, earlier this year.
The other gold awards winners were bowler Sue Abela, who won a silver medal in this year’s Mediterranean Championships, and triathletes Danica Bonello Spiteri, Dermot Galea and Mark Zammit who took gold in the team event of the Triathlon Championships for Small States in Liechtenstein.
Missing from the gold award winners was double trap shooter William Chetcuti who had to be content with a silver award.
During last night’s ceremony, the MOC presented a special merit award to mountain climbers Marco Cremona, Gregory Attard and Robert Gatt, who made it to the top of Mount Everest in May.
Other sportsmen who received a special award were football player Andre Schembri, who is on the books of Hungarian side Ferencvaros, waterpolo player Steve Camilleri, who plays for Italian side RN Bogliasco, judoka Jeremy Saywell, Chris Tabone (pool) and shooters Nathan Lee Xuereb and Lee Micallef.
Hall of Fame
There were five new Hall of Fame inductees yesterday.
Joanna Agius was without doubt Malta’s best female archer. She competed in three successive Olympic Games when representing Malta in Moscow (1980), Los Angeles (1984) and Seoul (1988). Agius, who was Sportswoman of the Year in 1979 and 1982, won a gold medal in the Archery Small States Games held in Guernsey in 1987.
Shooter Joseph Grech took part in the 1959 Mediterranean Games in Lebanon. He also made three appearances in the Olympic Games – Rome 1960, Mexico City 1968 and Munich 1972.
Tony Pellegrini Petit had a distinguished career in table tennis where he won all major honours in the local scene with his club Melita. He competed in the world championships in Dortmund (1959) and Prague (1963) and the Europeans in London in 1966.
Robbie Scerri is considered as Malta’s best tennis player. He is a former president of the Lawn Tennis Association of Malta. He also had a career in cricket, hockey, waterpolo, squash and football. As a football player he is thought to be the player who scored the first goal at the Empire Stadium in Gzira.
Lawrence Xuereb was the fifth president of the Maltese Olympic Committee. He also served as president of Hibernians FC and led them to their third championship in 1968. During his stint at the Paola club, Hibs won a string of honours including two FA Trophies and the Sons of Malta Cup on three occasions.
2010 Award winners
Gold award
Basketball team women (S. Pace, B.L. Zammit, J. Cardona, R. Brincat Thoresen, S. De Martino, A. Vella, C. Grima, L. Sciberras, J. Grima, E. Cassar). Horse racing team (F. Cassar, K. Caruana, A. Agius, G. Attard, C. Camilleri, A. Demanuele. Table football team (M. Gauci, J. Borg Bonaci, S. Bartolo, C. Aquilina, D. Conti, M. Cremona), M. Cremona (table football), S. Abela (bowling), triathlon team (D. Bonello Spiteri, D. Galea, M. Zammit).
Silver award
Jaru sailing crew (A. Calascione, J. Ripard, S. Ripard, D. Calascione, T. Ripard, M. Calascione, S. Pizzuto, L. Scicluna, J. Santy, J. Smith), C. Farrugia (shooting), D. Vella (shooting), W. Chetcuti (shooting), M. Gauci (table football), S. Abela, T. Carannante, J. Caruana Scicluna, D. Mercieca (all bowling), M. Zammit (triathlon).
Bronze award
Basketball men’s team (P. Shoults, R. Vella, I. Tanti, N. Sultana, J. Jackson, D. Schembri, K. Baldacchino, A. Bonnici, S. Deguara, M. Naudi, S. Schembri, D. Bugeja), C. Camilleri (canoe), N. Borg Costanzi (canoe), handball team (M. Delicata, A. Depilato, J. Friggieri, M. Gilson, A. Invernizzi, C. McClean, A. Mifsud, C. Mifsud, P. Mifsud, P. Naudi, I. Psaila, M. Psaila, A. Said, D. Tabone, J. Tanti, I. Turban), artie sailing crew (K. Casapinta, J. Cachia, J. Rossi, P. Valentino, C. Ripard, M. Gusman, L. Satariano, I. Borg); D. Galea (triathlon), D. Bonello Spiteri (triathlon), K. Galea (triathlon), F. Spiteri (triathlon), R. Camilleri (athletics), E. Bezzina (shooting), K. Cassar (tennis).
Special merit awards
J. Saywell (judo), C. Tabone (pool), N.L. Xuereb (shooting), L. Micallef (shooting), M. Cremona, G. Attard, R. Gatt (Mount Everest), S. Camilleri (waterpolo), A. Schembri (football).