Favourites Sullivan, Cini land U-23 titles

After the conclusion of the U-16 Crodino Championship, the Eden Leisure SuperBowl last week hosted the finals of the Intermediate (U-23) section.

The top six male and four female qualifiers, after round one, went on to the second round robin phase where a system of bonus points was awarded for wins, draws and also high games. The top two then went on to play in a final.

Long-time leader Neil Sullivan was the obvious favourite for the men's title having qualified with 3,617 pins - 251 better than nearest rival Neil German.

Mark Muscat rolled off in third place ahead of Maurizio Anastasi (junior champion), Matthew Caruana and Rankin Camilleri.

Although Sullivan only won two of his games for a 40-pin bonus, he was almost impossible to catch. With further bonuses for high games of 205 and 201, he retained the top spot with a final total of 4,545 pins.

German fared better on the day, with highs of 214, 181, 193, and two 186 games for a valuable 85 bonus - giving him a cumulative 4,411 pins and a place in the final. Muscat finished in third place - 4,218.

Sullivan knew he was just one more game away from the title. German, on the other hand, as second qualifier had to beat his opponent twice to claim the crown. As the strikes began to fall, Sullivan gained an edge through the first five frames. German improved but remained a strike down as the game came the a close, the championship going to Sullivan with 215-197.

Cini - five in a row

The four lady qualifiers were headed by strong favourite Amanda Cini (3,294 pins). She was hopeful of her fifth consecutive crown in this event.

Melissa Camenzuli was second (3,110) ahead of Pamela Demanuele (2,873) and Bernadette Carannante (2,853).

Cini won two of the short three-game set, to finish with a 3,951 total. As expected, Camenzuli held on to second place, 3,698. Demanuele stayed third with Carannante unable to improve on her fourth position to emulate younger sister Tiziana's victory in the U-16 final.

In the final Cini led narrowly up to frame seven but then Camenzuli converted a seven-spare to edge ahead.

But Cini hit back strongly to win by a mere four-point advantage 219-215.