D'Emanuele, Vancell lead after first round

The qualifying tournament for the 2007 European Gold Cup, organised by the Malta Tenpin Bowling Association, is in progress at the Eden SuperBowl.

The winning male and female bowlers will travel to Paphos, Cyprus in May to compete in the 31st edition of these annual international championships.

After 12 round one games, Pam D'Emanuele leads the ladies' field, while last year's winner and defending Euro Gold champion Philippe Vancell heads the men's table.

Vancell became the first Maltese tenpin bowler in history to be crowned European Gold Cup champion after winning the 2006 tournament in Loetz, Luxembourg.

A chance to defend his title in Cyprus is Vancell's top objective. He holds a narrow lead in the men's division after the first round.

Round one consisted of two six-game sessions, and Vancell was second after day one, playing a 199.6 game average for a total of 1,198, 13 pins behind Bertram Vella whose tally was boosted by his four-pin game handicap.

Justin Caruana Scicluna lay third at this interim stage on 1,193 pins (193.8 ave).

Day two saw Vella's game dip slightly but Vancell was more consistent, shooting a steady 1,162 to go first with 2,360 pins from his 12 games. Caruana Scicluna improved to a very close second on 2,343 pins, while Vella will start the next round in third place.

D'Emanuele came through her initial six games at the top of the ladies' division, rolling a scratch 1,103 (183.8 ave) featuring a 223 opening game. She was buoyed by her 12-pin handicap for a gross total of 1,175. 2006 winner Ben Carannante was second with a total of 1,128 while Marthese Cossai held third place on 1,087 pins.

D'Emanuele made another good start to the second session, rolling off with a 222 opening game but had to wait until the final game to break 200 again, a 224 proving to be her game of the event to date. She retained top spot by 99 pins, chased by second-placed Stephanie Said who can be pleased with her 2,323 effort (2,179 scratch, 181.5 ave). Cossai remained third on 2,237, while Carannante slipped to fourth on 2,190 pins.

Round two will see the top 16 bowlers from each division playing a further six games before the field is whittled down to the top six males and females for the penultimate round robin stage. After that, the top three in each category will contest the Stepladder Finals.