Fine results in bowling, table football

The first events from the 2009 Mediterranean Friendship Games were held in Sicily yesterday with Team Malta chalking up its best results in bowling and table football.

Justin Caruana Scicluna place a creditable second in bowling following a very close competition at the Liquid Club in Marsala.

The 19-year-old recovered from a shaky spell in games three and four to bounce into the lead with only the final round to be completed.

However, his hopes were dashed by the impressive Roberto Sottile. The Sicilian bowler sealed top spot with a 259 in the final game for an overall score of 1,833.

Caruana Scicluna, the son of Malta bowling champion Sue Abela, finished second on 1,783. Sicily's Fabio D'Agostino, who scored an impressive 300 in the seventh game, was third on 1,777. Kenneth Arpa placed fifth, 1,687, ahead of Mark Spiteri, 1,629. National coach Rick Vogelesang was delighted with the performance of the Maltese.

"Unfortunately, we are not so familiar with the lanes here as we didn't have time to practise. But our bowlers took little time to settle and from then on they kept scoring consistently well," the Dutchman, who took the job last August, said.

"I'm particularly pleased with Justin. He played really well against strong competitors who notched high scores. So, credit to him for remaining in contention till the end."

In table football, the Maltese held the upperhand against their Sicilian opponents after winning six of the nine matches played.

Samuel Bartolo was unbeaten at the end of the tournament after winning two matches and one draw. Massimo Cremona and Mark Gauci notched two victories each and lost one match.

In beach volley, Malta's women pair of Alison Borg and Maria Demicoli beat Trapani 2-1 (20-22, 21-17, 15-12) but then lost to Sicily 2-0 (21-11, 21-17).

In men's beach volley, Paul Vella and Robert Balzan suffered two identical 2-0 defeats to Trapani (16-21, 16-21) and Sicily (14-21, 16-21).

Team Malta found the going tough in dance sport where Roxanne Buttigieg/Jonathan Borg and Amanda Amaira/Kurt Spiteri were outpointed by the Sicilian selection in both Latin American and standard events.

The Maltese dancers then had the better of Trapani in Latin American but finished second in the standard section.

Chess was also in programme yesterday. In a tight match, Malta and Sicily drew 2-2 after the first day.

Joseph Gauci won his match while Mario Psaila and Adrian Duncan Vella earned a draw.

Ronald Sammut was the only Maltese player on the losing end. The competition continues today.

In Karate, Tyler Tanti earned a prestigious win in kata against Italian champion William Torre 3-2 but lost against the Trapani martial artist 5-0. In the girls event, Kimberly Stanton lost to Trapani 4-1 and Sicily 5-0. In kumite, Roberta Abela beat the Trapani girl 1-0 but lost against her Sicilian opponent 1-0.

Dylan Hayles beat Trapani 3-0 and lost to Sicily 2-1.

The other event held yesterday was archery where the participants competed over 72 arrows in the individual event.

Sicily's Alberto Zagami, ranked fourth in Italy, won the event with an overall score of 591.

Antonino Lisotta, of Sicily, was second on 556 ahead of Malta's Luke Pellicano who scored 547. Owen Sacco was fourth on 520 while Simon Vassallo (507) placed seventh.

In the event for teams, Sicily outscored Malta 182-160.

The Mediterranean Friendship Games continue today.