Fina, Tabsat break away at end of first round

Week nine marks the end of round one in the current Middlesea League at the SuperBowl, and sees leaders Fina and chasers Tabsat break away from the pack at the top of the standings.

While Tabsat took an easy eight from NINE, Fina's 8-0 win came at the expense of third-placed Globalair Travel. The third full-point win of the day went to Turu's Knights against Active. There was a good 7-1 result in favour of Centro Casalinga over Ramis. Second-from-bottom Cafe Ole picked up a handy six points from seventh-placed Royal Shock.

It seems that challengers Tabsat can only hope for a slip-up from Fina in order to gain some ground on the runaway league leaders. That wasn't to be in week nine as the defending champions tore into Globalair for an emphatic victory.

Fina began the rout with a 747-682 win before going 4-0 ahead with a 778-690 game two win. Fina rounded off with a 788-731 score to make sure of all eight points.

Tabsat's big win left NINE hovering just over the relegation zone. They could do little to stop Tabsat's onslaught and lost game one 703-790, although game two was considerably closer, falling to Tabsat by just 24 pins (670-694). There was no doubt who was in charge of game three, Tabsat winning it 690-847 to complete the whitewash.

Standings: Fina 66, Tabsat 52, Globalair 44, Centro Casalinga 44, Ramis 41, Turu's Knights 32, Royal Shock 28, NINE 26, Café Ole 20, Active 7.

Bowlers of the week: Sue Abela (Fina, 531); Steve Cassar (Centro Casalinga, 648).